Oklahoma Department of Human Services

Oklahoma Summary

admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 20:00:03 +0000

Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is a state-operated child welfare system, but hiring has always been done locally. The agency is divided into five field regions serving 27 districts and 77 counties. In 2017, OKDHS employed 1,780 Child Welfare Specialists (caseworkers) and 388 supervisors. That same year, the annual turnover rate was 25%. They applied to be a QIC-WD site with the goal of strengthening their child welfare workforce.

Oklahoma Key Findings

admin — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 16:41:49 +0000

Background

Oklahoma Intervention Background

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 13:23:37 +0000

What is competency-based personnel selection and why was this intervention selected?

Oklahoma Needs Assessment Summary

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Exploration of Needs

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) worked with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) to conduct a needs assessment. A variety of information was explored to learn about the current workforce and the agency’s child welfare workforce practices, including:

Standardized Competency-based Hiring Process

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 00:18:24 +0000

Standardized Competency-based Hiring Process

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services, worked with the QIC-WD to standardize their child welfare hiring practices. This video highlights how they created their new competency-based selection process and shares the experiences of staff and leaders who’ve participated in the new process.

Watch the Video

Oklahoma Theory of Change

admin — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 22:03:52 +0000

During the needs assessment process three areas of opportunity were discussed for possible intervention at the Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Division of Child Welfare Services:

hiring of new workers,
promotion decisions for lead worker and supervisor positions, and
staff recognition and rewards.

Ultimately, one theory of change was developed to step through the “if, then” logic for implementation of a standardized hiring process to improve worker retention and performance.

Oklahoma Implementation Overview

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 06:57:44 +0000

The Implementation Team

Oklahoma Evaluation Overview

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 04:03:55 +0000

The QIC-WD evaluation was conducted with the support of the Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) to determine if a Competency-based Personnel Selection process was effective in improving workforce and child welfare outcomes.

Oklahoma Intervention Overview

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 05:40:15 +0000

A Competency-based Personnel Selection process was the intervention designed as part of the QIC-WD project to address inconsistencies in hiring and to identify candidates with the desired competencies to be hired as Child Welfare Specialist (CWS) I/II with Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) (for more information see the Site Overview). The Competency-based Personnel Selection process is a standardized hiring procedure that includes a structured interview with behaviorally anchored rating scales, a typing assessment, and a writing assessment.

Oklahoma Site Overview

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 21:04:37 +0000

The Child Welfare Services division of Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) is a state-administered child welfare agency. The OKDHS divisions are supported by centralized operations including Human Resource Management (HRM). A small team of human resources professionals within Child Welfare Services work closely with HRM to support Child Welfare Services’ personnel needs.

Oklahoma Site Intervention Logic Model

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 21:53:01 +0000

Each QIC-WD site developed a logic model to serve as a visual representation of their selected intervention. All logic models included four main components: inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Collectively, these demonstrate the resources and actions required to implement the program, as well as the associated result or changes anticipated through implementation of the program. The hypothesized relationships are represented by the pathways connecting the listed activities and anticipated outcomes. For more information see Site Overview.

Oklahoma Progress Update - A Revised Employee Selection Process: Virtual & Paperless

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 14:26:20 +0000

Oklahoma Progress Update - A Revised Employee Selection Process: Virtual & Paperless
Posted on October 13, 2020

Oklahoma worked with the QIC-WD to revise their employee selection process. This blog post describes the process used to determine the competencies of caseworkers and highlights lessons learned to date.

Competency-based Personnel Selection

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 14:14:27 +0000

Why the Oklahoma DHS felt that working with the QIC-WD was a good opportunity

admin — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Why the Oklahoma DHS felt that working with the QIC-WD was a good opportunity

Leaders from Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) discuss why it is important to have a strong child welfare workforce and partner with the QIC-WD.

Watch the Video

Oklahoma Selects and Designs a Selection Intervention

admin — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 18:49:51 +0000

Oklahoma Selects and Designs a Selection Intervention
Posted on March 13, 2019

Oklahoma’s Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development Steering Committee has decided to refine the selection process for new child welfare workers.