Oklahoma panel told that DHS privatization will cost more, not less

OKLAHOMA CITY - A legislative panel was told Tuesday that privatization of some Department of Human Services functions would not save money and would, in fact, cost more.

Supporters argued to the House Appropriations and Budget Human Services Subcommittee that privatization was more responsive to the needs of children in state custody.

The subcommittee is conducting an interim study on the matter.

"It will not be cost-neutral," said Marq Youngblood, DHS' chief operating officer. "It will cost more in the early years and may level off in latter years. Private providers funding levels remain the same despite a reduction in children in and out of home care."

The Rev. Ed Fellhauer, CEO of St. Francis Community Services, based in Salina, Kan., said the only way privatization will work is through private-public partnerships.

His company provides services in family preservation, adoption, and drug and alcohol treatment. The company also provides therapeutic foster care in Oklahoma.

"My experience is if it is done properly, it provides better care than I have seen in nonprivatized states," said Fellhauer, a former DHS child-welfare investigator.

Claudette Selph, a member of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, said: "Other states have experienced successes and failures we can learn from. One thing is certain, however, in reviewing other states' experience, and that is privatization costs more if it is done correctly and money is not saved initially. It is, in fact, more expensive."

Selph, who said she had not taken a position on whether the state should get more involved in privatization, leads the commission's legislative committee and works for the Tulsa County Child Protection Coalition. She has been executive director of the Tulsa Boys Home and the Parent Child Center of Tulsa.

Selph said that if the state moves forward with privatization, the action should be studied first.

She asked for $100,000 for the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth to do research and make recommendations to the Legislature.

The Department of Human Services privatizes some functions already, Director Howard Hendrick said after the meeting. The agency has had a number of good outcomes through privatized services in reducing the number of children in state care and increasing adoptions, he said.

"It is always worthy of examination," Hendrick said. "No one is opposed to looking at things to see if we can make things better."

Original Print Headline: Costs of DHS privatization discussed

Barbara Hoberock (405) 528-2465
barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com

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Oklahoma panel told that DHS privatization will cost more, not less

OKLAHOMA CITY - A legislative panel was told Tuesday that privatization of some Department of Human Services functions would not save money and would, in fact, cost more.

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