examiner

parole officer

correctional officer

licensed practical nurse

rehabilitation specialist

State of Oklahoma

Had great job security and stability prior to resigning before the Child Welfare Lawsuit and supposed "overhaul". I was "reinstated", which is a loaded word for rehired. Prior exemplary duty means nothing. Had to repeat Core Training for child welfare then the "newly" introduced Hands on Testing (HOT). You get two chances to pass four areas then you are canned. Wouldn't be bad but they bring in fly-by-night graders who are really overworked , under appreciated and mostly power hungry supervisors and county directors to pass or fail you. It's really not fair at all, very subjective. If a person doesn't test well under pressure or doesn't role-play well....they shouldn't get cozy in their cubicle. Immediate supervisors are , for the most part, civil and  empathetic of workers who struggle with the new testing requirement but the top two people under the state governor couldnt care less. when it comes down to it, it's a dog eat dog world and nobody will look out for an individual except that individual. Oh, every employee in Child Welfare OKDHS will have to complete HOT, but non probationary employees will get the red carpet treatment and will only have to watch a movie and critique it. New hires and rehires who are on probation are put through the whole drill....and it's brutal. The graders haven't even been HOT tested, but they are passing and failing workers. The result is the state is running 28 prospective workers through one of 26 Core Training/HOT testing in a fiscal year, at tax payers expense and the ones who don't pass the second round of tests are quietly shown the door. In the region I worked in, the man who changes codes on doors cannot keep up because every time a worker is fired the codes get changed so he runs all over changing door codes. The Lawsuit that was supposed to make Child Welfare better has only served to scramble the entire Department up. New worker prospects should run away as fast as they can before getting bogged down in the quagmire. On a personal level, I feel ruined and even betrayed. That's another story though for another day.

The State of Oklahoma began consolidating IT services several years ago and the primary way to reach the required reduction in cost was to eliminate employee positions.   There were other savings, but the required $1,000,000.00 was accomplished by eliminating large swaths of the (formerly) 1,000 IT employees.

There was an intentional, wide-spread policy among the managers and directors that when a new agency was consolidated we had to use the phrase "everyone has a home" - even while we were planning on which employees would be let go.    Every consolidated employee was interviewed for a spot - but were told "you're not reinterviewing for your existing job."    Technically true, because their jobs were being absorbed by existing staff at OMES.

Management changed, policies and practices became inverted, and although a good place to work, it is definitely not secure.   We've watched those with decades of experience railroaded out.  I watched my manager ousted and replaced with a cheaper but inferior subordinate.

I was assigned to the OEM Mitigation Close Out team.Typical work day consisted of reviewing grant applications, auditing project expense reports and submitting approval of payment to the jurisdictions.   

I learned the mitigation grant process and requirements for FEMA and state approval for reimbursement for the various projects.

The OEM work group was great to work with.  All of the OEM specialist were willing and eager to help resolve issues as they arose and/or just to pass on information needed to complete any task.

The hardest part of the job was finding detailed information concerning the grant reimbursement regulations and insuring everything was done within the FEMA and state guidelines.

The most enjoyable part of the job was to go to the jurisdiction for the final inspection and audit.  The people from the jurisdictions had been involved with the grants since the planning stages of the project and were very proud of their accomplishments as the project was now entering the final stages and seeing the benefits for their communities.  There was always a great sense of accomplishment and willingness to help the OEM specialist with the required documentation pertaining to the grant close out process.

Things have been rough while I've been there but are slowly getting better. We're finally getting more staff. It seems to come in waves. When there are enough DCS, there aren't enough nurses. When there are enough nurses, there aren't enough DCS. The nurses 100% have the easier job on the daily but have much more liability. There's a lot of discourse between the two positions overall because the nurses feel that the DCS should do more and the DCS feel the nurses could be more supportive, especially when it comes to the kids that are more "behavioral." Ultimately, your motivations for being there will keep you there or cause you to leave. I've considered quitting many times(burn out being one of the reasons) but I'm there for the kids. I'm not a person that can just work a job for a paycheck. I have to feel fulfilled in a job and here, I truly do. I love seeing the kids make strides and meet milestones. If you don't like being "watched" by the people you supervise, you might go elsewhere. I think management is doing their best with the resources they have. There's good and bad everywhere you go and the pros outweigh the cons for me.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Money and benefits that is all

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Too many chiefs not enough Indians and everyone wants to cut every one else’s throat for their chance to move up the ladder. Very stressful, no family time, hundreds of hours of built up vacation time because you’re not allowed to be off. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
A few co workers are wonderful, most are rats even if you are good at your job they will think of something to make you look bad thinking they want the next promotion. Stupid training is mandatory (how to drive in winter) yet only teach you how to do an incident report once in academy. Wayyy too much paperwork. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stress and anxiety, use this job as a way to make money then as soon as you have everything paid off leave. Always have a back up plan as you’ll get to work and be fired for something you never did. About 3/4 of the people that work there are screwing their co workers or inmates. J

Not a good place to plan or advance a career if you are interested in advancement or enhancing your skillset. With the state it is more important that you have connections than how skilled or experienced you are as to your advancement potential. Not a bad place for someone for a temporary position while you are looking for something else or going to school etc. but for the truly ambitious, not a real career path. The people that stay working here are the people either nobody else will hire due to lack of skill or that lack any work ethic or motivation, the culture is morbid. Projects are not completed properly but thrown together as inexpensively as possible with the cheapest materials available. Benefits are good, but pay is well below average. 

Daily routines of making sure all IT operations were running smoothly and to assist those with questions and in need of assistance at a moments notice.

I would have to say I had one of the most knowledgeable,skilled and personable supervisors I've ever worked for and still look upon him as a friend and inspiration.  The staff at the facility were very fun and great people to be around anytime.

There were really no hard parts to the job, it's something I enjoyed doing and looked forward to everyday.

I would say the most enjoyable part of my job was being able to resolve a clients issue with minimal downtime on their part. The look and the comments of being regular Mr. fix to them it is what made it worthwhile   I would also include a small educational moment to them for simple issues to resolve  themselves or something unknown to them at the time(clearing the browser cache or how to use hot keys as an example).

The overall atmosphere among my coworkers was one of do only what you had to do to keep the supervisor happy.  I was criticized for getting my work done and asking for more.  I felt that I did not have a future here, as the job duties fluctuated, and the work I did well was taken away, and I was put in a position to do work that a trained child could have done.  Not exactly inspiring to someone who likes to work and do it well.

I learned the tasks of the job.

Management was biased in favor of existing employees and did not attempt to smooth things over.

Workplace culture was one of existing employees against new/temp employees.

The hardest part of the job was to go to work in a hostile environment.

The work was the most enjoyable part of the job, and the friendliness of some of the other temps.

I worked for the State of Oklahoma in the centralized procurement office for over 28 years. Moving up from the bottom to what was always considered the ultimate goal, that of Contracting Officer, As a Contracting Officer who processed requisitions from agencies as well as created statewide contracts for use by all government entities, I learned the processes of both types of acquisitions. 
Government purchasing requires a thorough understanding of the statutes that govern state purchasing and the need for them. As a seasoned employee who understands the importance of loyalty to the position, I realize the need for honesty and integrity when purchasing for the government.

Management is deceitful. 
Coworkers are uncaring.
Pay is wanting. 

Opportunities are missed. 
Opportunities to help the consumers at that.

Stand out even a little bit and be prepared to conform. They don't like ideas for improvement. 

Managers don't actually give a cr*p about you, they just tell you all is ok until it's not and they spring things on you. 

LOTS of Nepotism. Directors are married to one another. Other spouses are working in the same departments. Parents & children too. 
SOO that means a heck of a lot of workplace politics to weave through. And it is myriad at CACMHC. 
Work for a private agency. They pay more at least. 
Oh, and don't think they won't use their specific ways to get to you either. 

All of this is my opinion or course. 
Apply if you dare.



Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Examiner 31 salaries reported	$19.06 per hour
Parole officer 19 salaries reported	$51,373 per year
Correctional officer 5 salaries reported	$45,803 per year
Licensed practical nurse 2 salaries reported	$55,250 per year
Rehabilitation specialist 29 salaries reported	$3,462 per month

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