In The Spirit Of White Bear: OKDHS Social Worker Aide’s

July 2003

Emily Satepauhoodle reflects outside the Caddo County Office. For the pastthree years, the social worker aide has assisted the Smithsonian InstitutionNational Museum of the American Indian in its efforts to capture the historyand spirit of the Kiowa people for an exhibit in the soon-to-be opened museum.She has won high praise from the Smithsonian and her supervisor for her workhelping to organize Kiowa community gatherings and in identifying communitymembers who are knowledgeable about their history.

By Kevan Goff-ParkerInside OKDHS Editor

Kiowa Emily Satepauhoodle’sancestors were nomadic buffalohunters and warriors who onceroamed the southern plains. Her tribestill retains a robust presence in Okla-homa, and today’s preservation of hertribe’s rich cultural heritage propelsSatepauhoodle daily through manyworlds.

As a social worker aide inAnadarko since 2001, she workspart-time assisting children and fam-ilies from the Caddo County office.Her dedication has won praise fromher supervisor, Elaine Bellamy, aChild Welfare supervisor in Perma-nency Planning, who said shebecame fascinated by Satepauhoo-dle’s storytelling ability soon aftershe came to work for the agency.

In The Spirit Of White Bear: OKDHS Social Worker Aide’sDevotion To Tribe Propels Her Through Many Worlds

“Emily’s quite a good employ-ee,” Bellamy said. “She’s what wecall a part-time aide. She gets out andtakes children to foster homes, to thedoctor’s office, and she helps outwith getting children to and from vis-its with their parents – just anythingthat we need to do to carry out thedirect services for our children.

“She’s a great resource, a goodlistener and wonderful with childrenand families. I knew from the begin-ning she was going to be a goodemployee because she would comeback and write me these narrativesabout what she had done that daywith the children. She could reallytell the story of everything they haddone in the process.”

Outside of her OKDHS work,Satepauhoodle serves as a foundingmember and officer on the board of

directors for a non-profit Kiowaorganization, Satethieday Khat-gomebaugh (Kiowa for “WhiteBear’s People”). Chief White BearSatanta, who lived from 1815 to1878, was a warrior, statesman/ora-tor and servant for the Kiowa.Satepauhoodle is a fifth-generationdescendant of White Bear. Satethie-day Khatgomebaugh works to emu-late White Bear’s spirit by serving asa catalyst for community enhance-ment in the areas of service, charityand education.

But it is Satepauhoodle’s worksince 1999 as a cultural liaison withthe Smithsonian Institution and itssoon-to-be completed National Mus-eum of the American Indian that hasgained the somewhat shy and soft-spoken OKDHS employee her most

KIOWA continued on page 19

INSIDE OKDHS — July 20032

Approximately 500 OKDHSemployees enjoyed a hot dog of agood time during OKDHS’ Pre-Flag Day Celebration held June 13,outside of the Sequoyah Building inOklahoma City.

Although the weather was a bitcloudy at first, the excitement waspalpable, the fixings were morethan plentiful and the live entertain-ment was patriotic and pleasant.

Employees enjoyed hot linksand hot dogs with a choice of top-pings, including sauerkraut, chiliand cheese. Chips and cold drinkswere also supplied, as well as red,white and blue cake designed likethe American flag. Employeesquickly filled up the tables, whichwere colorfully adorned in a patri-otic motif, and quickly dug into thespread.

With Director Howard H. Hen-drick’s recent encouragement,OKDHS employees around thestate were asked to plan to “take ashort break” on June 13 to celebratea Pre-Flag Day event as well ashighlight the agency’s accomplish-ments. Local offices planned theirown activities and a variety of dif-ferent types of celebrations occ-urred around the state.

During the state-office event,Hendrick led the crowd in thePledge of Allegiance before thank-ing employees for their dedicationand devotion during the past year.

“Hey, this is a great day!” Hen-drick said. “This is a celebrationwith two goals – the importance ofour flag and to celebrate the workwe do – they are inter-related. Weare in the business of human serv-ices, and sometimes it is importantto step back and review what andwhy we do what we do.”

Hendrick said caseloads andreliance on OKDHS’ services havegrown exponentially during recentdifficult economic times, but saidthat despite the economy, it is vitalfor OKDHS to continue to helpexpand the human potential ofOklahomans. He commended em-ployees for “doing an incrediblejob” and then led the crowd in aprayer.

Afterward, OKDHS’ Marc Car-penter gave a moving rendition ofseveral patriotic songs and receivedhearty applause from the crowd.Attendees also received instructionson how to care for and fold theAmerican flag and had the opportu-nity to view patriotic displays.

Credit Union One of Oklahomapassed out American flag pins andmany employees entered a drawingfor $100, $50 and two umbrellas.Winners included Brenda Lovell($100), Elizabeth Roberts ($50) andan umbrella went to David Brown,while Darl DeVault walked away

with the other. The credit union part-nered with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.Both organizations donated the hotdogs and the grills as a gift toOKDHS employees.

Dana Huckleberry, vice presi-dent of lending, Credit Union One,and her colleagues oversaw thesign-up and pin-distribution table.

“We are doing this for ourmembers and our potential mem-bers,” Huckleberry said. “It dis-plays our national pride and ourpride for our state and as Ameri-cans.”

George White, administrativeprograms officer, Office of ClientAdvocacy, worked as a committeevolunteer with about 45 others toensure that OKDHS’ Pre-Flag DayCelebration came off without ahitch.

“We are doing this for employ-ee morale,” White said. “It is alsogood to get a break away from ourregular duties.”

Pre-Flag Day Celebration A Star-Spangled Event

This red, white and blue cake designed like an American flag seemed the per-fect icing on the cake (so to speak) for the OKDHS Pre-Flag Day Celebration.Here (L-R) serving are Cheryl Harris, Office Support Services Division, DebbieHenderson, Christine Dennis and Pam Miller, all Human Resources Manage-ment Division.

– KGP

July 1, 2003

Dear OKDHS Co-workers:

We have just completed one of the most financially challenging years in Oklahoma

Human Services history. But, we did it in style. We started last fiscal year with a state appro-

priation of $410.9 million. That funding level was short lived. After four budget shortfalls,

we closed the fiscal year down by $26.8 million in state funds to $384.1 million. Another

state dollar reduction came with the loss of $435,000 in funds from the Tobacco Settlement

funds. Our total budget grew to nearly $1.4 billion. But the nearly $100-million increase was

a direct result of 100 percent federal funds being distributed through the federal food stamp

program. The number of persons in Oklahoma who benefited from the food stamp program

increased by more than 90,000 over one year ago. This increased work in all our offices. Technological enhance-

ments and streamlined renewal processes helped. But, without additional staff, our dedicated workers simply did

it. They looked into the faces of children, their parents and grandparents and simply did the extra work – usually

cheerfully, mostly timely and always thankfully – thankful we could help.

Although the financial challenges were great, we made it through the year with our heads high. In every pro-

gram and support area, new levels of record performance were achieved. Across-the-board, our work has been out-

standing. Today, compared to this day last year, substantially more children are in safe homes, more custodial par-

ents are receiving child support, more TANF and child welfare parents are getting quicker access to substance

abuse services and more children and families than ever have access to health care, nutrition services and subsi-

dized child care. These supports are helping low-income working families provide for their family’s basic needs.

More vulnerable adults were protected from abuse, exploitation and self-neglect. More seniors participated in our

ADvantage waiver program than in any year in history. Today, thousands of elderly and developmentally disabled

Oklahomans are receiving community-based care in their own or relative’s homes. For them, it is the least restric-

tive environment. Those developmentally disabled Oklahomans who need the special services of our staff in Enid

and Pauls Valley had their needs met as well. Amazingly, while caseloads increased, performance and timeliness

in programs improved.

We also achieved material improvements in technology by completing a long-deferred major mainframe

upgrade, while maintaining and upgrading one of the State’s largest secure computer networks. Our Finance Divi-

sion handled all the budget changes, kept our vendors paid and continued the restructure of our EBT child care

system. Human resources management facilitated thousands of personnel transactions, helped train and retain

staff, and together with our University of Oklahoma partners and the Family Support and Data Services Divisions,

developed and timely delivered the biggest e-learning solution in State history. They delivered online HIPAA

training on confidentiality to more than 6,000 OKDHS employees and thousands of other employees in and out of

state government. Our office support services and facilities management teams kept pace with our changing needs

for space, office supplies and services while negotiating the best value and continuing to modernize our oldest

county offices. And there are dozens of other operations throughout the agency, like quality control, commodities,

risk management, client advocacy, our inspector general and volunteer coordination that operationally had their

best or near best year ever.

We are stronger than we were a year ago. Our collective will to serve and serve well is reflected in the great

work we do every day – one child at a time, one disabled or senior person at a time and one family at a time.

On June 10, 2003, the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services approved our fiscal 2004 budget work

plan. It reflects our current state dollar appropriation of $387.5 million received from the Oklahoma Legislature.

Barring any further downturns in the economy, we should be able to do well at this funding level in the coming

year. I know each of you, along with our many partners, will continue to do your best to be the best of which you

are capable. With this kind of effort, we can continue the great progress we have made into fiscal 2004.

The details of last year’s performance will appear in our fiscal year 2003 annual report. But for now, I want-

ed to take a few moments to say how proud and pleased I am to work with you. You’re great! Thank you for your

talented and dedicated service.

Kind Regards,

INSIDE OKDHS — July 2003 3

which, produces the right attitude.Discipline, like attitude, also adds upto 100 percent.

The next time you are chal-lenged to do something worthwhile,consider your attitude in yourapproach. When it comes to your atti-tude, put your Best Foot Forward anddiscipline yourself to get the perfectpositive score with a positive attitude.It adds up.

– George Earl Johnson Jr.


Have you ever heard or said, “Soand so has an attitude?”

When we hear this type of state-ment, we understand so and so gen-erally has a bad attitude. From itsFrench, Italian and Latin origins, theword “attitude” has five distinctive

definitions in the Third Edition of theAmerican Heritage Dictionary. The“attitude” referred to here “is a stateof mind or a feeling; a disposition.”

No matter the definition, webelieve we know an attitude when wesee one. Most of us have also heard,“to accomplish anything in life, onemust have the right attitude.” Whenit comes to getting things done, it allboils down to attitude. Good or bad,attitude always equals 100 percent. Apositive attitude has to be 100 per-cent. One percent off and your atti-tude will hold you back. Well, that’strue, and it’s all in the numbers.

Let’s assign numbers in ascend-ing order to the ABCs where A equals1 and Z equals 26. So what adds upto 100, with 100 being the full andperfect percentage score like on anytest one takes?

Will education get the perfectscore? No. Education totals 92 per-cent, which earns an A on most tests,but it’s not perfect. Maybe it isknowledge? Not quite. It is closer andearns a 96. Could it be hard work?Hard work falls two points short at 98percent.

Can it be attitude? Yes! Attitudecomes in with the perfect score of100 percent. Attitude is everything.In your activities every day, attitudedetermines how you respond. Atti-

tude lets the worldaround us knowwhether we are focusedon the 20 percentchance of rain or the 80percent chance for sun-shine. Most will knowwhether our glass ishalf-empty or half-fullbefore we open ourmouths.

Attitude first re-quires a discipline of mind, body,soul and spirit. Discipline is the char-acter quality that charges our attitude.Discipline is the training we have putourselves through to produce patternsof behavior that show the moral andethical character traits guiding usthrough life. Discipline controls ourattitude when rules are not in place.Discipline appropriately appliedcauses us to take right actions, whichmore often yields right results, all of

ATTITUDE = 100 Percent: DISCIPLINE, Too!E D U C A T I O N4 4 21 3 1 20 9 15 14 = 92

K N O W L E D G E11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96

H A R D W O R K8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98

A T T I T U D E1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100

D I S C I P L I N E4 9 19 3 9 16 12 9 14 5 = 100

Congrats, Larry!

Hats off to OKDHSChief Administrative OfficerLarry Harmon who wasrecently appointed by Gov.Brad Henry to Oklahoma’sIncentive Awards for StateEmployees Committee. Congrats!

‘OK Health’ Web-based Program Now Open To 1,200betes medication, lowered her bloodpressure, dropped her cholesterolmore than 100 points and quit smok-ing. McElroy walks one to two milesdaily.

“God put me in a position tomake a difference in someone’s life,”McElroy said. “I feel so humble thatI could be used like that.”

Not only has the experiencerenewed her relationship with Godand improved her health, but it alsogave her more confidence, strength-ened personal relationships at homeand work and helped make her a sup-portive leader.

“I feel like God expects me toshare my situation, the outcome and,hopefully, inspire someone else. Ihave never been happier in my entirelife,” McElroy said.


By Douglas DoePublic Information Specialist

A little determination and a lotof faith can take a person a long way.Just ask Janis McElroy.

McElroy, OKDHS SeminoleCounty director, was an Oklahomahealth statistic – suffering from dia-betes, high-blood pressure and obe-

sity. At 47, shedeveloped afully blockedcarotid arterythat caused aseries ofstrokes, includ-ing a large onein February.

“I am for-tunate that I ama person ofstrong faith,”she said. “Heused the situa-tion to get myattention with-out any majorn e u r o l o g i c a l

damage. Everymorning when I pray, I thank God forthe stroke – that’s what brought meback to him.”

It was during this low point thatMcElroy, a single mom with a 13-year-old son, became terrified thatshould she not make a dramaticchange in lifestyle – that she mightnot live to see her son grow up.

“Before, I would have not beenable to role model for anyone in poorhealth,” she said. “Now I am a livingexample that serious lifestyle changescan make a huge difference.”

Full recovery from the strokescontinues, but in the three monthssince, McElroy has gone from 221pounds to 173 – a size 22 to a size14. Her eventual goal is 135 pounds.

She has stopped taking her dia-

You Can Do It, Too! ‘OK Health’Now Available To Help Others

Approximately 1,200 OKDHSemployees now have the opportunityto experiencesimilar lifestylechanges if theyelect to partici-pate in a Web-based programknown as “OKHealth.” Thepilot program isfunded by a grantfrom the federalgovernment ob-tained by theEmployee Benefits Council and theOklahoma State Department ofHealth.

“What happened to Janis is whatwe want to happen to the 1,200employees who enroll in ‘OKHealth,’” OKDHS Wellness Coordi-nator Joe Kirk said. “Janis just hadenough willpower and determinationthat she did it on her own.”

Two of the high-risk categoriesbeing targeted by this program areOKDHS employees who have car-diovascular disease or those whohave diabetes. Cardiovascular dis-ease ranks as the second leadingcause of death among Oklahomans;diabetes is seventh, according toKirk.

“OK Health” will be tailor-madefor each employee and provides aWeb-based health behavior changeprogram with four components:

• An individualized computerhealth risk appraisal to identify at-risk employees. This includes a base-line evaluation, risk-reduction goalsand an individualized action plan toachieve the necessary goals.

• A guided personal implemen-tation of lifestyle changes, includingexercise, correct nutrition and dietary

Janis McElroyBefore

Janis McElroyAfter

OK HEALTH continued on page 17

Personal Health Journey Inspires Others


Patrice Dills Douglas, Edmond,was recently appointed to the Okla-homa Commission for Human Ser-vices by Gov. Frank Keating to fill anunexpired term previously held byOklahoma City attorney Piper John.Commissioner Douglas’ term expiresAugust 5, 2009.

Douglas is president of Air Spi-ral Manufacturing, which she co-founded with her father. She alsoserves as vice president and generalcounsel for ACP Sheet Metal Com-pany and Midwest Fabricators. Dou-glas spent 10 years working as anattorney for Oklahoma SupremeCourt Justice Hardy Summers. Sheworked at the Oklahoma Court ofCriminal Appeals before taking thatposition.

Douglas is a trustee of theEdmond Public Schools Foundationand is active in U R Special, an organ-ization that provides clothes for needychildren, the Edmond EconomicDevelopment Authority and numerous

other civic organizations. The Oklahoma City native is a

Computer Information Systems grad-uate of Oklahoma Christian Univer-sity and holds a law degree from theUniversity of Oklahoma where shereceived the highest honors in oral

Meet Human Services Commissioner Patrice Dills Douglasadvocacy by being inducted into theOrder of Barristers.

She is a graduate of LeadershipOKC, Class XIX, and an Oklahomadelegate to the 2002 Women’s Lead-ership Summit in Washington, D.C.She served as vice-chair of the Gov-ernor’s Task Force on Early Child-hood Education and on the JuniorHospitality Board of Directors. Shecurrently serves on the statewideOklahomans for School Readinesssteering committee and helped foundLeaders Read, an organization thatmentors and reads to at-risk childrenin child care facilities.

She is married to Brent Douglas,an electrical engineer, and they havetwo sons, Patrick, 7, and Phillip, 5.She said that although hobbies are athing of the past, any spare time isspent with Brent, Patrick and Phillip.Being the only female in the house,she has become very capable at soc-cer, T-ball and games of chase. Shesaid she cherishes this time.

Commissioner Patrice Dills Douglas

OKDHS employees may stillsurf to Yahoo! while on the clock, butthey can no longer “Do it eBay.”

But OKDHS’ Data ServicesDivision has a good reason for block-ing employee access to the popularauction Web site. Such access does-n’t gel in accordance with OKDHSInternet Usage Regulations. Themove will also help the agency moreeffectively use its resources.

OKDHS Chief InformationOfficer Marq Youngblood said beforeit was blocked, eBay was one of thetwo most visited Internet sites byagency employees. The other site –Yahoo! – is used by many employeesfor its search engine, and DSD hascommitted to not blocking access.

“We’re at a point where this is aconcern related to the Internet,” he

said. “We’re not going to come downand beat you on the head with agavel. It’s really about maximizingthe resources available to OKDHS.”

Currently, DSD has software inplace that automatically blocks manysites from view within OKDHSoffices. Not only does this make fora better use of network resources, butit also protects employees from acci-dentally getting to some sites thatpost “unacceptable” content.

“If there is a site we miss thatpeople alert us to, we can go in andblock it like we did with eBay,”Youngblood said. “I urge our users toreview our policy to ensure the prop-er usage of our Internet and InfoNetsystems.”

Questionable sites may be e-mailed to Youngblood at

[email protected] the complete guidelines and

regulations, check the OKDHSInfoNet at:

http://www.s99web01/computer/usage.htm

Data System Resources Freed Up By eBay Block

Timilyn Crank of Kay County sends us this quote

by Helen Keller

““TThhee wwoorrlldd iiss mmoovveedd nnoott

oonnllyy bbyy tthhee mmiigghhttyy sshhoovveess

ooff tthhee hheerrooeess,,

bbuutt aallssoo bbyy tthhee ssuumm

ooff tthhee ttiinnyy ppuusshheess ooff eeaacchh

hhoonneesstt wwoorrkkeerr..””

– DPD


White House Drug Czar John P.Walters, director of National DrugControl Policy, recently traveled toOklahoma City’s Eagle Ridge Insti-tute on May 30 to discuss PresidentGeorge W. Bush’s new three-year,$600-million plan to expand accessto drug treatment across America andthe importance of a balanced drugcontrol strategy.

During the event he answeredquestions posed by OKDHS DirectorHoward H. Hendrick, OKDHS Sub-stance Abuse Services Director KyleMcGraw and other state leaders. Wal-ters identified substance abuse as adisease that is treatable through a“new access to recovery” treatmentinitiative that will create a vouchersystem.

If approved, the voucher systemwill complement existing alcohol anddrug abuse treatment programs,increase treatment capacity andimprove access to effective treatmentprograms.

“Today’s recognition by Mr.John Walters, President Bush’s DrugCzar, has identified substance abuseas the leading health problem affect-ing every element of our society,”McGraw said.

He said he believes that creatinga greater awareness of the insidiousdisease of addiction within theOKDHS system and beyond isimportant, and that such awarenesswill help improve the dialogueamong state leadership that willeventually affect public policy.

“With people who have a sub-stance abuse problem, quick accessto treatment is essential given thenature of denial and mood swings andother erratic behavior,” McGrawsaid. “OKDHS TANF clients andthose identified among our child wel-fare cases are screened and assessedfor substance abuse problems, know-ing that without access to treatmentservices, they are likely to fail to

White House Drug Czar John P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy(left), recently visited with OKDHS Director Howard H. Hendrick (center) and otherstate leaders, including Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK) (right) at OklahomaCity’s Eagle Ridge Institute. Walters and Istook discussed President George W.Bush’s new three-year, $600 million plan to expand access to drug treatmentacross America and the importance of a balanced drug control strategy.

improve their quality of life.“Those with an identified sub-

stance abuse problem can receivetreatment services through our TANFcontracted agencies. We presentlyhave 37 certified substance abuseagencies providing treatment servic-es partnering with most of our coun-ty offices statewide. My goal is to

Drug Czar Shares Drug Treatment Initiatives With State Leaders

assess the need for substance abuseservices at every level of our servicedelivery, work together within oursystem and access the resources ofother state agencies to meet sub-stance abuse prevention and treat-ment needs.”

– KGP


By Kevan Goff-ParkerEditor Inside OKDHS

Dana Spence-Venters spends herworking hours providing child wel-fare services to children and familiesin central Oklahoma City, but it isoutside of work that her life reallygoes to the dogs … and cats, turtles,goats, birds, lizards and even fourpot-bellied pigs.

A Child Welfare specialist II,Oklahoma 55-D, Spence-Venters andher husband, Chris Venters, an attor-ney, run Real Rescue Inc., a non-profit animal rescue, adoption andsanctuary organization devoted torescuing and caring for abandonedanimals.

Spence-Venters’ OKDHS jobduties include working the shift uniton child abuse/neglect investigationsearmarked as priority one. Outside ofwork, she’s devoted to the care andwelfare of abandoned animals.

During a visit to her family farmin Arcadia, Inside OKDHS observeda verdant ranch complete with a sce-

nic pond full of baby frogs. Thefarm’s main and most cherished cropis animals, and they find sanctuary ina variety of ways. Bushels of catshave an indoor-outdoor caged facili-ty that makes use of a trailer. Thedogs have plenty of running room inan enclosed backyard. Meanwhile,various goats and pot-bellied pigshave shaded and fenced enclosures.

Spence-Venters is quick toexplain that each animal has a story.Sadly, many include past sufferingfrom abandonment or neglect – a sit-uation she knows well as a ChildWelfare specialist. At Real RescueInc., the sick or injured are nurturedback to health. They are fed andreceive care and attention from theirdevoted caretakers.

Spence-Venters said Real Res-cue Inc. was named such because shewanted it to incorporate the idea thatthe organization genuinely saves ani-mals. In fact, Spence-Venters said sheand Chris first became friends aftershe realized he was also an animalrescuer. Eventually, they worked onprojects together like rescuing aban-doned baby skunks. They soon mar-ried and started Real Rescue Inc.

“I wanted it to be a real rescue,”Spence-Venters said, “not just a tem-porary Band-Aid fix for the animals.So, we’re very discriminating aboutwhere we place. We don’t just adoptout animals to anyone who wantsone.

“They have to fill out a contract.We do background checks in thesense that we call references. Theyhave to have a vet, a prior history ofgood care of an animal and agree tokeep it in a way that an animal shouldbe kept, and if they don’t, we can gopick it back up.”

Spence-Venters said the reasonReal Rescue Inc. is so discriminatingis most of the animals in their carehave already been rescued from dire

circumstances. She does not want toreturn them to an unsafe environ-ment. She said that the non-profitalso invests approximately $200 to$300 caring for each animal. Animalsare spayed or neutered, tested forheartworms and inoculated. Cats arealso tested for feline leukemia andfeline AIDS.

“They’re in good health andhave had all that done and so whenwe place them, we expect them tohave a long happy life with the fami-ly,” Spence-Venters said.

Spence-Venters said the non-profit functions on donations. Shehad high praise for Purina, whichrecently donated numerous sacks ofdog food and for PETsMART, whichoften donates to Real Rescue Inc.

“All our money donations go forfencing and vet care,” Spence-Ven-ters said. “We welcome all types ofdonations.”

For more information on RealRescue Inc., please e-mail Spence-Venters at [email protected]

(L-R) Here, Dana Spence-Ventersand her husband, Chris Venters, aresurrounded by some of the animalsthat have found sanctuary at the RealRescue Inc. farm in Arcadia.

OKDHS’ Child Welfare SpecialistDana Spence-Venters received athank you kiss from a little dog sherescued named Max.

Dana Spence-Venters: A Real Rescuer


Sharon Neuwald, Ph.D., coordi-nator, Office of Legislative Relationsand Special Projects, has had a busyyear working with state legislators.With the legislature adjourned, it istime to briefly reflect on recent legis-lation that may affect OKDHS and itsemployees.

They include:��HB1094 – Division of Child

Care. Creates the Oklahoma Partner-ship for School Readiness Act tostrengthen the capacities of parentsand communities to meet the needsof young families by coordinatingavailable resources and building newpartnerships within communities.Establishes Board to promote schoolreadiness supporting community-based efforts to increase the numberof children who are ready to succeedby the time they enter school, andshall consist of representatives fromthe private and public sectors, includ-ing legislators. Authorizes the Boardto conduct a thorough assessment ofexisting public and private programsto determine their effectiveness,implement a public-engagementcampaign, provide leadership andencourage coordination of all earlychildhood efforts, and establish stan-dards of accountability in schoolreadiness programs. Establishes aschool readiness foundation to raisefunds and assist in implementation.Signed by Gov. Brad Henry. Current-ly in effect. ��HB1197 – Finance. Act relat-

ing to OKDHS’ appropriations for2004 — $387.4 million state dollarsis appropriated for state fiscal year2004. Signed by Gov. Brad Henry.Currently in effect.��HB1323 – FSSD. Bill will

facilitate sharing of informationbetween physicians and Adult Protec-tive Services staff to enable OKDHSto appropriately determine the serv-

How Recent Legislation Affects OKDHS Divisionsice needs of vulnerable adult clients.Signed by Gov. Brad Henry. Current-ly in effect.��HB1442 – Aging. Requires

nursing homes to report the follow-ing serious incidents within 24 hours:1.) deaths, 2.) missing residents, 3.)situations where suspect criminalintent, and 4.) resident abuse. Alsoprovides for a study of funding onnursing aide training. Signed by Gov.Brad Henry. Currently in effect.��HB1681 – FSSD. Clarifies

responsibilities in regards to AdultProtective Services program. Pro-vides a clearer legal framework forthe APS program. Signed by Gov.Brad Henry. Currently in effect.��SB0409 – Finance. Calls for a

feasibility study of retirement systemsto help retirees and their dependentswith health care. Signed by Gov. BradHenry. Currently in effect.��SB0411 – Finance Actuarial

Study. Calls for a study on creating aspecialized retirement system forpeople in hazardous-duty positions.Signed by Gov. Brad Henry. Current-ly in effect.��SB0431 – Child Support.

Relates to federal requirement thatnon-custodial parents’ employersenroll children in health care cover-age using the National Medical Sup-port notice. Adds a maximum of upto $200 per month per child penaltyto employer and insurer for failure tocomply with the requirements of thenotice to provide available healthcare coverage. Signed by Gov. BradHenry. Effective Nov. 1, 2003.��SB0610 – FSSD. Creates the

Oklahoma Medicaid ProgramReform Act. Directs OklahomaHealth Care Authority to apply forwaivers to allow cost-sharing, flexi-bility in the benefit package and “buyin” options for small employers orvoucher arrangements for employer-

sponsored coverage. Allows for theestablishment of co-payments premi-ums and enrollment fees; authorizesOHCA to charge enrollment fee orpremium; tightens third-party liabili-ty provisions by requiring that anyentity providing health insurancemust compare data from its files withdata in OHCA files to determine ifMedicaid recipient has health cover-age with an insurer. Mechanism tokeep third party health care coveragecurrent. Signed by Gov. Brad Henry.Currently in effect.��SB0631 – FSSD. Amends

Title 21 to include more specificpenalties for convicted perpetratorsof abuse, sexual abuse or exploitationof vulnerable adults.��SB0643 – Finance. A retire-

ment bill that allows an optional 2.5-percent multiplier for future service.This 2.5 percent is prospective andcovers service after Jan. 1, 2004. Itonly covers full years of service (nomilitary or partial years). The 2.5percent is only applicable for theprospective years, so earlier serviceis at the 2 percent. This benefit isfunded solely by employee contribu-tions. It adds another 2.91 percentcontribution beyond the a) 3 percentfor the first $25,000 in salary, and b)(there is another amount in attach-ment) for salary in excess of$25,000.��SB0674 – CFSD. Streamlines

field procedures for civil commit-ment of all children in the custody ofOKDHS for inpatient psychiatriccare. Provisions apply to all children.��SB0750 – DDSD. Continues

the planning committee on the Olm-stead Decision – this is a SupremeCourt case citing the Americans WithDisabilities Act as grounds that statesmust furnish home and communityservices in the most integrated setting.

– KGP



Whether your game is golf,horseshoes or volleyball, OKDHS’recent 17th Annual State Gamesbrought out the athlete in every par-ticipant as they vied for awards orcompeted to see who could have themost fun.

Held in McAlester on May 30-31, hundreds participated in friendlycompetitions, including 5-K runs,softball, bowling, golf, dominoes,volleyball, executive games, horse-shoes, darts and basketball (somecompetitions were dropped this yearbecause of a lack of participants).Other special events were held. Con-gratulations to the OKDHS StateGames Organizing Committee,events coordinators and partners andsponsors of the events.

Teams and other participants inthe executive games received certifi-cates of participation. As the July2003 issue of Inside OKDHS goes toprint, the following results wereavailable for publication.

Winners included:Men’s 5-K Run

1st Place – Richard Davidson, Creek County.

2nd Place – Craig Mahl, Beckham County

Women’s 5-K Run1st Place – Joan Guthrie,

Choctaw County2nd Place – Denise Mahl,

Beckham County

OKDHS Teams Celebrate 17th Annual State Games

1 Mile Co-ed Run1st Place Team – Richard Davidson,

Creek County; Ron Sullivan, Pittsburg County; Joan Guthrie,

Choctaw County and Denise Mahl,Beckham County

Golf1st Place Team – Wes Smith,

Roger Barton, Jean Derry and Steve Thomas

Spades Gold – Dream Team (Mary Nichols

and Helen Ladymon)Silver – The Bluffers (Sue Barkley

and Bryan Pittenridge)Bronze – The BSer’s (Brandy Smith

and Susan Wiest)

Women’s Horseshoes 1st Place – Wendy Bacon,

Choctaw County2nd Place – Cathy Amason,

Pittsburg County3rd Place – Beth Amason,

Pittsburg County

Participation AwardChristy Virden, Pittsburg County

Men’s Horseshoes1st Place – Tom Pitt,

Choctaw County2nd Place – Larry Chapin,

Choctaw County

Dominoes1st Place – Steve Rymel

and Diane Engel2nd Place – Brandy Smith

and Sue Barkley3rd Place – Susan Wiest and Bryan Pittenridge

Bowling1st Place Team – Pittsburg Players

(Jeranda Byerly, Trish Cooke, Fenessa Little and Kristy Wilbanks)

2nd Place Team – Enforcers (Kay Vaughn, Sandi Gardner,

Judy Gillum and Jerry Gillum)3rd Place Team – Kiamichi Outlaws

(Wendy Bacon, Ronny Beasley, Lisa Pierce and Dana Young)

Volleyball1st place – Team One

(Coach Rita Hart)2nd Place – Pittsburg County One

3rd Place – And Two, Pittsburg County

Darts (Singles)Gold – Wendy Bacon,

Choctaw CountySilver – Lisa Pierce,

Choctaw CountyBronze – Pat Johnson,

Pittsburg County

Darts (Doubles)Gold – Larry Chapin and Brandy

Rymel, Choctaw County

Silver – Lisa Pierce and JoanGuthrie, Choctaw County

Bronze – Craig Mahl and DeniseMahl, Beckham County

Softball1st Place Power Softball –

Kiamichi Outlaws 2nd Place Power Softball –

Laura Dester Center

1st Recreational Division Softball Pittsburg County Posse

Women’s Most Valuable PlayerKathy Mathis

Men’s Most Valuable PlayerSteve Tucker

$100 Door Prize WinnerLouise Wagnon, Pittsburg County

12


Champs don’t always wearboxing gloves or showy boxershorts. Sometimes, they’re just solidpeople who do a knockout job forchildren – that’s Jaricha McCowan.

McCowan is a child welfarespecialist II, Oklahoma County 55-G. She was recently honored for herdedicated service with a “Champi-ons for Children Award” by the Fos-ter Care Association of Oklahoma,Inc., during the association’s recentSeventh Annual Training Confer-ence held in Oklahoma City.

The Foster Care Association ofOklahoma, Inc., is a small group ofdedicated foster parents determinedto establish an organized voice forfoster children and their providersin an effort to promote the associa-tion’s mission

McCowan was the only case-worker to receive such an award.She was nominated for the honor byCherylyn Pereida, a new foster caremother.

McCowan said receiving thehonor was a “total surprise.”

McCowan said she got attachedto Pereida’s case and assisted thenew foster mother in various ways,including checking up on the fosterchild and trying to ease the transi-tion process.

In the nomination letter sent byPereida, the foster mother said shereceived her 12-week-old fosterdaughter in June 2001 whenMcCowan replaced Pereida’s origi-nal caseworker. She said McCowandistinguished herself by quicklyshifting through the discrepancies ofa complicated case.

She praised McCowan formaking a special trip to pick up giftsand wrap them on Christmas Eve sothat her foster daughter wouldn’t be

Supervisor Christine Watson (left) and Kathy Omalley, Child Welfare field liai-son for Area III (right), congratulate Jaricha McCowan, a Child Welfare special-ist II, Oklahoma County 55-G, for being honored with a “Champions for ChildrenAward” by the Foster Care Association of Oklahoma, Inc.

left out during the holiday. Pereidaalso explained that McCowan wasalso available to her when her fos-ter daughter had to go for trips to theemergency room and followed upon her daughter’s condition. Sheadded that McCowan also helped tofacilitate a visit with her fosterdaughter’s birth mother. McCowanmade a special trip to Pereida’shouse to pick up a gift and somephotos for the birth mother andensured she received the itemsmonths after the mother had relin-quished custody.

“Jaricha’s compassion for thebirth mother and for my feelingswas enormous,” Pereida said.

Additionally, after four monthsof frustration of not being able toget a new copy of her foster daugh-ter’s birth certificate, McCowanstepped in and obtained the child’sbirth certificate and social securitynumber – all within one week.

“She has made several visits‘just because’ and has taken a hugeinterest in the child,” Pereida said. “I

have been a foster parent for almosttwo years and have never seen anoth-er caseworker take such an interestin a child and bend over backwardsfor me as a foster mother.”

Pereida said her foster daugh-ter is now in the hands of the adop-tion unit, but McCowan periodical-ly checks in with her to see howthings are going and has requestedto be present when the court final-izes her adoption of her fosterdaughter.

“Jaricha’s work is exceptionaland her love for children is a won-derful asset to OKDHS,” she said.

McCowan modestly said beinghonored with a “Champions for Chil-dren Award” was a total surprise.

“I am honored,” McCowansaid. “It feels really nice to be rec-ognized and appreciated for doingyour job.”

McCowan said she anticipatesattending the official adoption of thelittle girl in the coming days. Thechild will be adopted by CherylynPereida and her husband, Jesse.

McCowan Honored With ‘Champions for Children Award’




Tired of your daily dose ofjunk e-mail? Good news!OKDHS employees’ e-mailboxes may soon be spam-free.

OKDHS Chief InformationOfficer Marq Youngblood said anew anti-spam software pack-age will soon quarantine sus-pected unsolicited e-mails. Fourgroups are piloting the software,including the Data ServicesDivision, Information SystemsNetwork technicians and twoCanadian County sites.

The Data Services Divisioninstigated the change afterreceiving various complaintsfrom employees getting e-mailswith “unacceptable” content.Employees average between 40-50 such emails per week.

“They did not want to seethis kind of e-mail,” Young-blood said.

With the new software,employees will login to the sys-tem and check all quarantined,or possibly unsolicited, e-mail.They will then be able to revieweach e-mail message and deter-mine whether to leave it in thequarantined queue, deliver it toone’s mailbox or delete it.

“Rather than being liberaland letting (all e-mail messages)through,” Youngblood said, “it’smore conservative and catchessome e-mails that employeesmight want to keep.”

He said OKDHS employ-ees will also have the option tobypass the spam blocker if theywish to receive e-mails from aparticular user.

OKDHS’ E-mailSoon To Be‘Spam-Free’

By Cara Norris, Carl Albert InternOffice of Communications

An “ISNT” isn’t a bad thing –it’s good – especially if your comput-er crashes and you’re working out inthe field. ISNT is the acronym for anInformation Systems Network Tech-nician — OKDHS’ new breed of sup-port staff who are fast becoming anintegral part of the Field OperationsDivision.

OKDHS’ ISNTs are responsiblefor troubleshooting, repairing andmanaging computers, plus other net-work equipment for the countyoffices. Their responsibilities alsoextend to One Stop Employment cen-ters and other outstation sites. Theytypically cover several counties each,which can mean hundreds of miles oftravel every week and responsibilityfor more than 100 computers andother office-support technology.

Lu Miller, who worked as anISNT for more than five years beforemoving into a position in the DataServices Division, describes theimportance of network technicians’work for the agency.

“Without the ISNT positionthere would be constantcomputer/user/equipment downtimewhich would cause a loss of servicesto OKDHS clients,” Miller said.“ISNTs are a diverse group. They areperiodically given tasks to perform intheir counties that in the past wouldhave been performed by outsidetechs. They perform them well, sav-ing OKDHS money.”

Carey Manous, ISNT for Push-mataha and McCurtain counties, saidISNTs wear many hats.

“We are the office computer spe-cialists, but we are also part liaison,part coordinator and part clerical,plus part trainer, part mover and allaround Mr./Ms. Fix-It,” he said.

Manous has been in his currentposition for three years, and is aseven-year veteran of OKDHS.

Becky Mayer, ISNT for Lincoln,Payne, and Pawnee counties, is oneof the original ISNTs.

“People who know me well willtell you I am not easily intimidated,but by noon of the first day, I was

ready to run screaming from theroom,” Mayer said. “This went on fortwo days until one of the othertrainees, bless her heart, finally spokeup and said to the trainer, ‘I don’tknow about anyone else in here, but Idon’t know what you are talkingabout.’

“Sighs of relief broke out allover the room. Then ‘me neither’ washeard here and there. The ice wasbroken, the trainer’s jaw dropped tothe floor and at that moment thebonding began among us that woulddevelop into lifelong friendships.”

ISNTs have been a part ofOKDHS since 1997, but have workedunder several different names.

Stephanie Collins, is the ISNT

Computer Problems? Ask An ISNT

One of the original ISNTs, StephanieCollins, serves Roger Mills, Beckhamand Washita, plus Blaine and King-fisher counties. She said ISNTs affec-tionately call themselves “the ISNTswho CAN!”

ISNTS continued on page 14


for Roger Mills, Beckham andWashita, plus Blaine, and Kingfishercounties. She said she is one of theoriginal 36 Social Program Techni-cians, fondly referred to as “SpiTs.”

“In the beginning, no one reallyknew what we were supposed to do,especially us SPiTs, except take careof computers at the county officelevel,” Collins said. “We thenbecame Computer Services Techni-cians, better known as CySTs. Hey,at least the name had the word “com-puter” in it!

“We are now known as Informa-tion Systems Network Technicians,and affectionately call ourselves theISNTs who CAN!”

Karen Henderson, another orig-inal ISNTs, said she believes thatISNTs have in many ways been pio-neers in the field. She covers Hen-derson Stephens, Cotton, Tillmanand Jackson counties. Hendersonsigned on as an ISNT in 1997 with23 years of prior OKDHS service.

“We were sort of just thrown outhere with little guidance and havelearned and gotten by many times bythe seat of our pants,” Hendersonsaid. “We work together and share

things as a team. We know that in atime of need another ISNT is an e-mail or phone call away.”

Although the nature of theirwork may suggest a lone-ranger typeof mystique, many ISNTs agree withHenderson that teamwork is the key.

“Right after I became an ISNT,I got an e-mail from Data Servicesasking if I would go over to theMcCurtain County Health Depart-ment and look at a computer,”Manous said. “The messages statedthat a user was having a problemwith their ‘Corridor’ program. Well,I had never heard of Corridor and Iwas scared to death.

“Two things kept going throughmy mind: ‘I don’t know what Corri-dor is,’ and ‘where is the McCurtainCounty Health Depart-ment?’ After Ifound the Health Department andfound the employee that was havingthe problem, I called DSD and,together, we solved the problem. Ileft there feeling very satisfied.”

The interaction betweenhumans and technology that fills theworkday of an ISNT is often goodfor a few laughs. Faye Ferguson, anISNT for the past six years, serves

Osage, Washington and part of Tulsacounties, recalls some great stories.

“One time a user called becausethe computer was displaying errormessages saying that there wasn’tenough memory to print,” Fergusonsaid. “When I cracked the case of thePC, I saw that the memory chip wasjust gone. The user said, ‘I wasn’taware that I had lost my memory – Ididn’t feel a thing!’

“Another time, I was visitingwith a user who mentioned that shecouldn’t figure out why a cup holderhad been installed on her computer,but not on anyone else’s – it turnedout she was talking about the CDROM drive!”

OKDHS network technicians’adventures seem to confirm whatmany believe about computers – thatsimple problems can appear com-plex, and that sometimes it takes alittle magic and coaxing to fix them.

Liz Combest agrees. She’s beenan ISNT for six years and servesAtoka and Pittsburg counties.

“One time a monitor would notcome on,” Combest said. “I calledData Services, and Deann Romineadvised me to pick up the monitor,click my heels and turn around threetimes and say ‘there’s no place likehome,’ and then put it back on thecomputer. Would you believe I did –she told me to do this! It worked.”

Even when technical difficul-ties amount to forgetting to plugsomething in, ISNTs are available tohelp.

“I think early on in this job oneof the funniest, but at the same timemost reassuring things that happenedwas that one of my users who is verytechnologically minded called meand said she couldn’t get her com-puter to work,” Henderson said. “Igot to her desk and was kind of nerv-ous – it was like being called to theprincipal’s office or maybe having

ISNTs continued from page 13

ISNT Becky Mayer serves Lincoln, Payne, and Pawnee counties. She saysstrong bonds have been created between ISNTs serving in OKDHS.

ISNTS continued on page 17



Marq Youngblood, OKDHSchief information officer, wantsemployees to know that a trio of DataServices Division (DSD) projectswill bring added stability, speed andproductivity to the agency’s comput-er network.

Either completed or comingsoon for DSD is transferring infor-mation from a pair of older main-frames to a new, larger one costing$5 million, replacing 168 localservers and replacing switches androuters.

“We needed to ensure betterperformance in general at the sites,”Youngblood said. “The projects werenecessary to either increase the net-work’s capabilities or replace outdat-ed technology.”

He said the OKDHS main-frames handle an average of143,684,750 transactions per month.The capacity was stretched to thelimit in November 2002 when167,363,717 transactions wereprocessed. Completed in June, themainframe migration project beganwith some initial software changesthat were mostly transparent toemployees.

“We switched 25 software toolsand products,” Youngblood said.“That was a major element of theproject. We did it to get a betterreturn on the investment.”

By changing the software pack-ages from non-IBM software to IBMsoftware, DSD generated $700,000in initial savings. Youngblood said heexpects the completed project to be$500,000 under estimated costsbecause DSD staff performed somework slated for external sources.

OKDHS staff should havenoticed improved performance fromrunning transactions on the newmainframe, Youngblood said. In

Tech Talk: The Latest News From Data Services Division1999, transactions on the two main-frames took about three seconds.With the migration of the first main-frame in February, that time droppedto .17 seconds.

Other improvements to the datainfrastructure are being paid for as apart of the $1.5 million earmarkedannually by DSD.

In fiscal year 2003, this moneywas used to replace nearly 1,500aging OKDHS computers. During2004, it will be used to replace orupgrade 168 local servers toMicrosoft 2003 servers, upgrade orreplace 150 routers and add newswitches.

Youngblood said that changingthe routers will allow DSD to priori-

tize network traffic and give softwareor applications used for day-to-daybusiness operations a priority overpeople surfing the Internet. Addingnew switches should also give DSDthe bandwidth to reduce networkproblems and allow the agency to runall network computers on Windows2000. Sixteen sites in the OKDHSnetwork, including the SequoyahBuilding, do not currently have allcomputers using uniform operatingsystems.

“There’s a common thread inwhat we’re doing,” he said. “We’reensuring our common infrastructureis appropriate for the solutions we’llbe putting in place.”

Policy Management Senior Analysis Dena Thayer was “Caught Work-ing” recently. Thayer, who works in the Office of Planning, Policy, andResearch, was reviewing the final Office Support Services Division Pub-lications Guidelines brochure before distribution. The Rules and PolicyManagement Unit has been performing triple duty since last Decemberhelping program divisions prepare policy for permanent rule-makingapproval by the Oklahoma Legislature and providing analysis for admin-istrative staff on legislative matters that may affect OKDHS during thelast legislative session, which ended May 30.

Caught Working

Administrative ServicesJanet Belcher32 years��

Child Support EnforcementDivisionMarilyn K. Alsup38 yearsPatsy Marie Harper25 years��Children and Family Services DivisionMichael C. Moore30 yearsDiane G. Sparks12 yearsClaudia Lynn Hunter24 yearsJohn Wayland Brown28 years��Data Services DivisionAnthony M. Leonhard36 years��Developmental Disabilities Services Division-Area IITulsaSharon A. Dean25 yearsJo Ann Grayson27 years��NORCERae A. Somma18 years��Division of Child CareKathy Calvin29 yearsAnita Ozment30 yearsMarlene Smith29 yearsCarey C. Miller31 years��Family Support Services DivisionLarita F. Henderson25 years��

Family Support Services DivisionLarita F. Henderson25 years

16

Atoka County Phyllis J. Jensen36 years��

Carter County Peggy Henry24 years��

Choctaw County Charles McDaniel30 years��Comanche County Teresa A. Myers30 yearsDeWayne Younger20 years��Garvin County Walter Melvin Smith, Jr.41 years��Harmon County Jenny Dona Geiszler9 years��McIntosh County Roger Barton38 years��Murray CountyFreida C. Hickman22 years��Muskogee County Darlene M. Ragland15 yearsCharlene M. Hibbard29 yearsGeorgiana B. Henderson14 years��Noble County Donald Brown24 years��Oklahoma County 55-DWanda D. Millican12 yearsSusan S. Randall27 years��Oklahoma County 55-HAlma J. Sanders13 years��

Okmulgee County Virginia Creason30 years��Osage County Elvus J. Farrow18 years��Pittsburg County Ronald Gene Sullivan28 yearsSharon D. Walters33 yearsMarilyn K. Wadley26 years��Pontotoc County Iona Graham25 yearsPeggy Wood35 yearsPeggy S. Wood35 years��Seminole County Sheila D. Argo23 years��Tulsa County 72-BSusan Carol Frye26 yearsMartha Lee Mills30 yearsMs. Dannie Carlis14 yearsJames W. Beck23 years��Tulsa County 72-CTerry J. Collins31 years��Tulsa County 72-HDoug Maclean14 yearsDouglas Maclean14 years��Washita County Synovia K. Lemmings33 years��Area VMarilyn Hedrick30 years��

Field Operations DivisionBob E. North24 years��Finance DivisionClaudia McCreary34 yearsJames Burton37 yearsLinda D. Siran23 years��Human Resources Management DivisionMerlene Williams25 yearsSharon Simpson24 yearsGeorgette Clark32 yearsClarese Amadi35 years��Office of Client AdvocacyWalter L. Davis21 yearsJimmie C. Young27 yearsRowena Snider7 years��Office of Inspector GeneralBuddy G. Powell35 years��Office Support Services DivisionRosezetter Williams24 yearsRobert Ferguson35 yearsJohnston B. Pickett30 yearsPhyllis A. Burnham28 yearsFrankie A. Roller46 yearsJo Ellen Reed29 yearsKaren J. Cravens31 yearsKarin L. Kruger30 yearsJames D. Hedrick26 yearsJames E. Richards16 years

Congratulations And Good Luck To Recent OKDHS Retirees



to work a math problem on the chalkboard in front of the teacher and thewhole class. I asked her what itseemed to be doing and she said, ‘Ihave no idea. The screen is justblack. I can’t get it to do anything.’

“I looked at it, looked at the PC,and reached over and turned it on.The look on her face was wonderful.I accused her of doing it just to makeme feel more confident.”

Sometimes, even for an ISNT,a problem is just inexplicable.

“Once a user called and said,‘I’m having a problem with deadmice,’” Ferguson said. “When Italked to the DSD Help Desk, theyasked how the user had killed themouse, but we had no idea – perhapsit died of natural causes.”

Occasionally, ISNTs are alsoresponsible for instilling some com-mon sense. Linda Tucker, an ISNTveteran of six years serves Alfalfa,Grant, Kay, Major and Woods coun-ties. She said she knows the feelingwell.

“I can remember a time when auser notified me that the monitorwas out,” Tucker said. “When Imade it there, I came to find out thatthe person had fried it by watering aplant that was sitting on it and thewater had run down into the moni-tor – fried it completely. Needlessto say, I asked that the plant bemoved to another location.”

One of the first ISNTs, LynnDunn, serves Coal, Johnston, andPontotoc Counties. She said she’salso experienced some surprises onthe job.

“Liz Combest and I were sentout to a remote site to setup aRemote Access Service computer,”Dunn said. “There was only onephone line and we were using it forthe modem. I had to use a personal

cell phone to call DSD, and we weredown in a valley, so I had to walkup the hill a little way to get phoneservice.

“While I was calling on the cellphone, two dogs came over the topof the hill right towards me. I didnot know at the time that they werefriendly – you would never believethis short-legged lady could run sofast!”

Combest said that although theirwork is closely related to that of DataServices, most of the InformationSystems Network Technicians be-long to the Field Operations Divi-sion.

“Our main responsibility is tothe end users in the county offices,to make their jobs as easy as possi-ble when it relates to the computersystem, so services can be providedto the public in a timely manner,”Combest said. “We work very close-ly with Data Services in resolvingproblems.”

ISNTs continued from page 14

Mike Fischer, a programs man-ager II in the Field Operations Divi-sion, helps coordinate training anddevelopment for the ISNTs at thestate level.

“We’ve had a wonderfully tal-ented group of people working inthese positions over the past sixyears,” Fischer said. “They’ve beendiligent, creative workers, who haveearned the respect of both the coun-ty staff and the network managers atDSD. We see evidence of their abil-ities when someone hires themaway from us.”

Field Operations has lost fiveISNTs to private industry or to otherstate agencies. Eight have moved toother information technology posi-tions within OKDHS. New ISNTshave also been recruited from with-in the agency – at least four mem-bers of the current ISNT staff wereformerly Social Service Specialists.

supplements, plus weight management, smoking cessation and stress manage-ment.

• The identification of medical conditions requiring further evaluation ortreatment and a referral to the employee's personal physician.

• Computerized progress reports and tracking to enhance employee com-pliance and to provide support to employees participating in the program.

“It’s a lifestyle management and lifestyle change program,” Kirk said.“Employees who are better off physically and emotionally, make better employ-ees.”

Enrollment for the program began in late June. Employees interested inparticipating must register before July 11. The program is limited to the first1,200 who sign up.

To enroll, please look for periodic pop-up windows with sign-up instruc-tions or go to:

http://www.s99web01/adhr_humanresource/program/signokhealth.pdf

OK Health continued from page 5


July 2003 OKDHS Calendar Of Events

Editor’s Note: Details about most ofthese events may be found on the

OKDHS InfoNet

July 12-16N4A National Conference

July 15-18New Supervisor Academy 18

July 17Oklahoma Silver Haired

Alumni Association Meeting

July 19-23National Association of PublicChild Welfare Administrators,

APHSA Conference

July 20-23National Council of State Human

Services Administrators andNational Council of Local HumanService Administrators, APHSA

Conference

July 21Adult Protective Services Field

Liaison Meetings

July 22Oklahoma Commision for Human

Services Meeting

July 22-25New Supervisor Academy 17

July 25Governor’s Advisory Task Force

on Child Abuse Meeting

July 28Human Services Center Meeting

July 28-29Reggaefest at Bricktown in downtown Oklahoma City

July 30FSSD Field Liaison Meeting

July 31-Aug. 1School Based Social Worker

Conference

Zohre Salehezadeh, Ph.D., and Kenneth Kickham, Ph.D., both seniorresearchers in the OKDHS Office of Planning, Policy and Research have beenselected to present a workshop on the aging population during the Partnershipfor Aging Conference in November. The workshop is titled, “Baby Boomers’Retirement: Are We Prepared?” The Southwest Society on Aging and the Mid-America Congress on Aging is sponsoring the conference, which will be held inTulsa. Salehezadeh and Kickham’s study on the aging Baby Boomer populationwas chosen through a competitive process that included submissions from 12states. The study will also be published in July in a journal published by the Uni-versity of Oklahoma, The Oklahoma Business Bulletin. The dynamic researchduo’s study was originally published in Gnosis in January as a part of the office’smission to promotes the growth and development of strategic planning withinOKDHS and provides the mechanisms to support data-driven decision making.Congrats team! You can access the original paper on the InfoNet or Internet athttp://www.okdhs.org/iopprsa1/Vol2/issue1.pdf.

Duo To Present Workshop

munity has. I think the type of workthat she does now (with OKDHS) justreinforces her feelings for her commu-nity that were already there.”


recent attention. She was featured inan article in The Oklahoma Gazettein May.

Cecile Ganteaume, associatecurator, Smithsonian National Muse-um of the American Indian, said themuseum is projected to open in Octo-ber 2004 on the National Mall inWashington D.C. One of the maindisplays at the museum will be the“OUR PEOPLES” exhibition. It willfeature the history of eight tribesselected from throughout the West-ern Hemisphere, including theKiowa. Ganteaume and co-workersfrom the museum recently traveledto Anadarko to work with Satepau-hoodle. Together, they gathered pho-tos, video and audio recordings fromthe descendants of White Bear as apart of the museum’s segment onKiowa tribal histories.

Satepauhoodle and other tribemembers have also worked with thesame team in Washington D.C. toidentify historic relics, photographs

Kiowa continued from page 1

Emily Satepauhoodle looks througha scrapbook featuring her and otherKiowas’ work on Satethieday Khat-gomebaugh (Kiowa for “White Bear’sPeople”) a non-profit group thatstrives to emulate the work of reveredKiowa Chief White Bear Satanta byserving as a catalyst for communityenhancement.

(L-R) Elaine Bellamy, Child Welfare supervisor in Permanency Planning; EmilySatepauhoodle, a Smithsonian Institution cultural liaison, and Cecile Gan-teaume, associate curator; Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indi-an, were recently featured in The Oklahoma Gazette. The story focused onSatepauhoodle’s dedication to her job, community and assistance to the Smith-sonian in helping to preserve her native heritage.

Satepauhoodle said she’s grate-ful to be able to help pass on her her-itage and traditions to future genera-tions of Kiowa.

“I want to leave somethingbehind for the future and this is oneway to do it,” she said. “This is thefirst time that I’ve seen where a muse-um actually allows the people them-selves to have an input. The Smith-sonian has been so great at allowingus to do this.”

Satepauhoodle said she made aspecial discovery when she was help-ing to identify artifacts for the Smith-sonian – she discovered a saddle cre-ated by her great grandmother.

“That was awesome,” she said.“I believe it is important for people toknow who the Kiowas are and wherethey fit into the community.”

and maps and other antiquities –many that will be featured on displaywhen the museum opens.

“It is very important for theNational Museum for the AmericanIndian to have a community liaisonwho helps us through every phase ofour planning and implementation ofour project,” Ganteaume said.

Satepauhoodle has been a keyplayer in helping to organize com-munity gatherings, in identifyingcommunity members who are knowl-edgeable about their history and inworking with tribal elders.

“She’s been what’s made it pos-sible,” Ganteaume said. “Emily is agreat person. She’s very smart andvery giving.

“She’s very much a part of anddevoted to her community and sheunderstands the concerns that the com-

Inside OKDHS is published for employees and retirees of theOklahoma Department of HumanServices as a joint effort of theOffice of Communications, thePublications Section and the PrintShop.

Howard H. Hendrick, DirectorDepartment of Human Services

George Earl Johnson Jr.Director of Communications

Alice CarrilloPublications Section and

Print Shop Supervisor

Editorial Team:Kevan Goff-Parker, Editor

Dustin Pyeatt, Associate Editor

Douglas Doe, Associate Editor

Stephanie Bond, Publications Editor

Carla Garrett, Office Manager

Casey Harvey, Asst. Office Manager

Tony Hennigh, Graphic Artist

Jim Gumm, Photographer

OKDHS S03080 Issued 7/2003Publication of Inside OKDHS is authorized by the Okla-homa Commission for Human Services in accordancewith state and federal regulations and printed by theOklahoma Department of Human Services at a cost of$3,226.40 for 4,033 copies. Copies have been deposit-ed with the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Publica-tions Clearinghouse. Contents are not copyrighted andmay be freely quoted unless otherwise noted.

Oklahoma Department ofHuman ServicesP.O. Box 25352Oklahoma City, OK 73125

Runningfast thissummer?No problem,but be sureto slowdown longenough topick up theupcomingAugustissue ofInsideOKDHS. Bein the knowas youcatch upwith the latest onOKDHS’employees,our newestinitiativesand thissummer’ssizzlingevents.

Documents

In The Spirit Of White Bear: OKDHS Social Worker Aide’s