80 YEARS OF SERVICE [Text: “There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother.” Theodore Roosevelt] [Music] [Text over montage of Dust Bowl photographs: Families and children in ramshackle houses, dust storms on the horizon, etc.] What if the rain stopped seemingly forever and the land dried up and blew away? What if families lost everything their whole life’s work gone What if children grew up hungry in grinding poverty and lived in shacks? What if hope was lost? Who would change that? How would the change happen? What if someone had an idea? An idea that would grow into an nationwide effort to lend a helping hand. [Music continues; photos change to those of the Oklahoma state capitol, OKC in the Dust Bowl era, lawmakers at work.] What if leaders took a bold, decisive step? What if lawmakers created an agency to help families life themselves up again? [Image: Oklahoma Department of Human Services Logo] We are that agency. We have been providing a helping hand to families since 1936. [Montage of Oklahomans utilizing OKDHS services: Smiling young people, a woman grocery shopping, senior citizens, disabled veterans, etc.] Helping people with disabilities vulnerable adults children working families What if you needed help putting food on the table? Would the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – help you feed your family? Did you know most SNAP recipients are over age 65? Or disabled? Including disabled veterans? What if you lost your job? Would Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – TANF – help you pay your rent? Or buy clothes for your children? What if a child needed protection from abuse or neglect? What if child care programs were not regulated? Would you leave your child in an unlicensed facility while you were at work? What if someone with a developmental or intellectual disability lived in isolation? Do they have a right to a better quality of life? What if your elderly parent or neighbor was neglected, exploited, or abused by a caretaker? What if there was no process for children to receive court-ordered financial support from noncustodial parents? [OKDHS: Oklahoma Excellence logo] What if one agency could answer those questions? What if change could make that agency better? [Montage: Oklahoma lawmakers at work in the present day, Cover page of The Oklahoma Pinnacle Plan, logos of private foster care agencies such as Saint Francis Community Services, Angels Foster Family Network, and Tallgrass.] In 2012, DHS was reorganized and the Human Services Commission was abolished by Oklahoma voters. Following the settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit, DHS developed the Pinnacle Plan – aimed at improving services to children. What if hundreds of new child welfare workers were hired? What if private-sector foster care agencies helped us recruit and retain more foster families? What if a governor launched a campaign to recruit more foster families? What if we built relationships with volunteers, faith communities, nonprofit agencies, and civic organizations – to help us extend a helping hand to more Oklahomans? [Logos of community partners: Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council, OK Foster Wishes, 1-1-1 Project, Oklahoma Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Tulsa Advocates for the Protection of Children, Citizens Caring for Children.] What would you call that? We call it a mission – a vision – values. How do we measure success? [The Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act: 50 Years of Service to Oklahoma families] How about 50 years of ensuring quality child care? Oklahoma ranks #1 in the nation for oversight of child care homes – and in the top four for child care facilities. How about enforcing child support orders? Noncustodial parents must provide for their children’s basic needs and help families decrease their reliance on public assistance. [Aging Act Poster: Get Into the Act! "The Older Americans Act clearly affirms our Nation's sense of responsibility toward the well-being of all of our older citizens." - President Lyndon B. Johnson (July 14, 1965) 50th Anniversary of the Older Americans Act of 1965] What about 50 years of the Older Americans Act? DHS Aging Services has hundreds of community partners who help us extend a helping hand to the state’s aging population – providing programs for nutrition support, disease prevention, health promotion, and elder rights. What about closing two outdated facilities for persons with developmental or intellectual disabilities? The Northern and Southern Oklahoma Resource Centers were both closed in 2015. The residents of those facilities now live in home environments – and continue to receive the care they need and deserve. What about the commitment to close shelters for children? Child Welfare Services partners with the private sector to find safe foster homes What if no one needed any of our services? What if no one lived in poverty? What if no child was abused, abandoned, or neglected? What if no vulnerable adult – or person with a disability – suffered from abuse or exploitation? What if every family had enough to eat – and could pay their basic bills? What if the need for a helping hand ended? What if it didn’t? What if you needed a helping hand? What if 80 years of helping people – makes all the difference? Special thanks to: DHS Office of Communications and Community Relations DHS Developmental Disabilities Services DHS Design Services University of Oklahoma Video and Media Services