District and state Oklahoma Department of Human Services personnel remain optimistic that the agency’s new Service First model developed as a response to COVID-19 and then expanded to help absorb state cutbacks will result in better service for its clients statewide.

However, Kingfisher County child advocates and other officials are concerned about whether closing the county office and more than 30 others across the state will leave a vulnerable population at risk.

“In our ever-changing world, the OKDHS Service First model allows us to prioritize the agency’s customers and workforce over physical structures,” Casey White, OKDHS media relations administrator, said Tuesday. “It also allows us to deepen our reach across the state by meeting our customers where they are, utilizing community partnerships.”

State Sen. Darcy Jech (R-Kingfisher) said the fact that the closures originally would have left four of the six rural counties in his district without a physical office caused him some concern.

“It’s shaping up to be another of those rural vs. urban issues,” Jech said. “They’re closing some buildings in bigger counties too, but that still leaves plenty of other facilities.

“In rural areas, once the local DHS office is gone, the closest physical point of contact can be an hour’s drive away or more.”

How It Works

Most state OKDHS workers, including those in Kingfisher County, have been working from home since the start of the pandemic.

Service First is a continuation of that plan, which state officials said proved more successful and productive.

Those seeking information or services in Kingfisher County can call a central state number (405-522-5050) and calls are then rerouted to the appropriate worker at his or her home.

“If the question or problem can’t be solved online or over the phone, the worker can still schedule a face-toface meeting with that client,” Tina Frazer, OKDHS child welfare district director, said.

Right now, those faceto-face meetings can still happen at the local DHS office by appointment, but capacity is limited and access is restricted due to the ongoing pandemic.

“It’s taking attention to advance planning on our part because if more than one meeting is scheduled at the same time involving more people than can be in the building then someone has to find an alternate location.”

Partnership Concept

The goal is to develop partnerships in the community to provide alternate physical locations so that the local building can eventually be closed altogether.

Frazer said the partnerships her agency is seeking would ideally provide three different types of space:

•Full access – 24-hour access to a secure building for client interviews, family meetings and visitation, secure storage and community stakeholder meetings.

•Daytime access – space available during daytime hours.

•Collaborative space – shared space in an existing business, church or other facility that would be available during the host entity’s normal working hours.

“We’re fortunate that Kingfisher already has a very collaborative type community with a lot of partnerships available,” Frazer said.

“The multidisciplinary child abuse task force has offered funds to help furnish spaces for children removed from homes under emergency situations once we have spaces for that.

“We already have things in the works and our faith-based community has been fantastic, offering church spaces, meeting spaces and other facilities. “Once we get partner-ships on board then we do a formalized agreement.

“That’s still in the process and we won’t close our office until we have everything in place.”

Not as Easy as That?

Molly Neuman, assistant district attorney charged with prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases, is one of the people concerned about finding the right spaces, particularly given the sensitive nature of child welfare services.

Because children often have to be removed from at-risk homes in the middle of the night, one of the spaces needed would provide 24-hour access as a place where children could be kept safely and comfortably while a child welfare worker tracks down an emergency placement.

She approached county commissioners at their Monday meeting about the possibility of utilizing empty space in the courthouse annex for that purpose.

Neuman told commissioners that the Kingfisher Ministerial Alliance has expressed a willingness to help, but “it would be inconvenient to call on church staff to come out and open a building in the middle of the night.”

Confidentiality and liability issues create another set of problems, she said.

Commission Chairman Ray Alan Shimanek, District 2, said he understood the problem but objected to state offices mandating counties to provide fixes for their problems in such crucial cases.

He and District 1 Commissioner Jeff Moss expressed special concern regarding liability and supervision related to such cases, which can erupt at any time – night or day.

Moss also questioned how long the county facility might be needed.

County Engineer Nik Smith pointed out that county offices, such as the court clerk and county clerk, which have extensive record storage needs, also would like to have space in the courthouse annex.

Neuman left a proposed contract which commissioners will take under consideration.

Jech’s Concerns

Jech requested and participated in a video meeting with OKDHS officials and staff and about 20 mostly rural senators to discuss his concerns about the rural areas he represents, he said.

He believes he’s successfully advocated to remove two of his counties from the closure list, one where the DHS facility is provided by the county at essentially no cost other than utilities and another with a high poverty rate and remote location.

“Kingfisher is a tougher sell for me because we have a higher standard of living and we also have a strong faith community willing to step forward and serve as partners,” he said.

Willing or not, those kinds of arrangements take time to set up and finding the right kind of facilities to serve the unique needs of the social service agency can be a challenge, Jech said.

He also said the $8 million cost savings OKDHS says it is achieving by the facility closures may not be worth the potential unintended consequences.

“That sounds like a lot of money, but when you consider that the agency’s total budget, between state and federal revenues, is over $2 billion, that’s really a drop in the bucket,” he said.

“It’s something I’m continuing to watch closely.”

Frazer said the pivoting service plan continues to evolve and some challenges are yet to be solved.

All workers have been issued secure laptops to access confidential files online, but not all files have been digitized and paper files can’t be printed or stored in worker’s homes due to confidentiality rules.

Also, the mountain of paperwork required for court reports and regular filings has to be printed somewhere.

“Those are things we still have to figure out,” Frazer said.

What Is Working

Apparently, prospective clients are learning to adapt to the new normal by seeking services online that would otherwise require in person visits.

“We have learned that our agency’s online portals, such as okdhslive.org, are successful points of entry for our customers,” White said.

“In fact, we have seen a 96% increase in new okdhslive.org users in Kingfisher County in June 2020 vs. June 2019.”