OKDHS Seeks Bilingual Case Managers to Address Disability Services Demand
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services is hiring more case managers to help Oklahomans with disabilities to connect with state support services. While anyone qualified is welcome to apply, the agency especially needs more case managers who speak Spanish.
As the Developmental Disabilities Services division of the state DHS chips away at a 13-year wait list for its services, the agency is working to hire more case managers to help Oklahomans with disabilities connect with state support programs.
The agency is especially interested in hiring case managers who can help serve the increased number of Spanish-speaking Oklahomans applying for services across the state.
The agency is hosting two in-person hiring events in late August. One will be at the Workforce Community Hope Center in Oklahoma City, the other at the Human Services Department Office Building in Tulsa.
Oklahoma Seeks Supreme Court Order To Unblock Federal Family Planning Money
Oklahoma is seeking an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Biden Administration from denying the federal family planning money it lost last year when it refused to provide counseling to pregnant people on all options, including abortion.
In July, a U.S. appeals court rejected the state's arguments on why it should receive federal family planning money under Title X. Now, Oklahoma is seeking relief from the Supreme Court in an emergency application sent to Justice Neil Gorsuch last week. Gorsuch oversees emergency state matters.
Phil Bacharach, the communications director for the Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, told StateImpact Drummond appreciates the court’s consideration and hopes the justices see the case as "a clear example of federal overreach."
The federal government is giving the court until August 30th before it distributes Oklahoma’s 2024 funding to other entities.
Oklahoma Broadband Office’s Executive Director Gets Raise
The executive director of the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board is getting a hefty raise. The board approved the salary increase of more than $16,000 this week.
The board oversees the Oklahoma Broadband Office, which is charged with making a pathway for 95% of the state to internet access by 2028.
According to nonprofit newsroom Oklahoma Voice, the office’s Executive Director Mike Sanders will have a new salary of $201,175.
The board also discussed Sanders’ performance evaluation during a board meeting Tuesday.
Jim Meek, chair of the board, said Sanders passed the evaluation and his performance exceeded or met standards. He said the raise was first talked about early last month but its approval was delayed until this week.
Sanders thanked the board for its confidence and said he will not disappoint the members, according to Oklahoma Voice.
Nearly Century-Old Fort Sill Indian School Relic Recovered From Creek Near Lawton
Efforts are underway to restore a Fort Sill Indian School relic that's nearly a century old in southwest Oklahoma.
At the entrance of the Fort Sill Indian School, miles outside of Lawton, stood a stone arch that read “Kiowa Indian Hospital Ft. Sill Indian School.”
The sign stood tall for more than twenty years but disappeared after a large truck hit it in 1958.
Yolanda Ramos works on an intertribal land use committee for the Kiowa Comanche and Apache nations. She says she learned the sign was in East Cache Creek about a year ago and took action.
Last week, she led a team to remove the sign from the creek. Now, it's being restored and will one day return to the abandoned Fort Sill campus. Ramos says preserving the sign is a way of honoring the school’s former students and their experiences.
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