The Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will be holding quarterly meetings with employees from throughout the agency this year. Commissioner Terri White has scheduled three meetings with OPEA representatives beginning June 24 at 3:30 p.m..
“These meetings will be patterned after the highly-successful meetings OPEA members have been holding every quarter with DHS Director Howard Hendrick,” said OPEA Policy and Research Director Trish Frazier. “OPEA members who work for DMHSAS are encouraged to attend the meeting with Commissioner White. This is a great opportunity to informally discuss workplace issues and become acquainted with the agency director.”
The DMHSAS Council will hold a preliminary meeting at the OPEA office, 13 NE 28 in Oklahoma City at 2:00 June 24 to organize the agenda and plan the discussion. To protect your privacy, it is best to discuss personnel grievances with the OPEA grievance coordinator and not at this public meeting. Depending on the size of the group, the format will range from structured to free discussion.
“OPEA has already received calls about possible topics for discussion; including worker safety, communication in facilities, and training,” Frazier said. “This should be a productive initial meeting.”
At this time OPEA has not received notice of how the agency will handle leave status for this meeting. If you must immediately ask for time off to attend the meeting, please put “organizational leave” on your form.
RSVP to Trish at the OPEA office at trishf@opea.org, 405-524-6764 or 800-880-6732 so we can plan for seating and materials.
Additional meetings are planned for September 23 and December 23.
