DHS Commission Could Use More Members Like Steven Dow

The Oklahoman Editorial   

Published: September 18, 2011

STEVEN Dow's deposition in a class-action lawsuit over Oklahoma's foster care system is an indictment of the state Human Services Commission. That and Dow's willingness to criticize the panel publicly have made him some enemies, no doubt, but also may affect real, overdue changes. We certainly hope so.

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Dow was named to the commission in early 2010. He soon became frustrated by what he saw as a lack of commission oversight of the Department of Human Services and, in the face of news stories about children dying while in the DHS system, what he saw as an unwillingness by board members to do little more than attend their monthly meetings.
Dow told attorneys for the nonprofit Children's Rights Inc. that he felt information provided to commissioners about DHS operations was “absolutely insufficient.” What objective measures are commissioners given to help them gauge DHS's child welfare performance? “None.”
Has anyone on the board expressed an interest in such objective performance measures? “Not to my knowledge.”



Chairman Richard DeVaughn



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Aja Johnson