OKPOLICY.ORG
While no doubt well-intended, the governor’s executive order for “welfare to work” doesn’t address the real challenges that everyday Oklahomans face and misses the fact that many factors prevent Oklahomans from working. Low wages mean that a job isn’t enough to support a family. Furthermore, low pay, unstable hours, a lack of child care, lack of transportation, limited health care access, and other barriers make it hard — or impossible — to keep a job. Forcing people into low-wage, unstable jobs doesn’t solve these problems or lead to real economic security. It merely leads to churn.
Oklahoma’s safety net programs already operate under extensive state and federal oversight. For example, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program already performs well under federal review. In the most recent federal error-rate audit, Oklahoma ranked second-lowest among 17 states, with an error rate of just 1.95 percent.
And while Oklahoma’s improper payment rate for SNAP caught some headlines, experts point out that improper payment rates are not necessarily caused by fraud, but often are administrative errors caused by signal lack of technology, training and staffing. Federal officials have noted that error rates are not a measure of fraud and should not be conflated as such.
We appreciate the governor calling attention to the harms of cliff effects in public support programs, but this executive order doesn’t improve accountability — it only adds administrative burden to agencies already stretched thin.
The governor looks to non-profits and churches to address places where Oklahomans are struggling. However, asking either to carry the responsibility of the common good ignores the basic role of government. Government exists to pool our shared resources and deliver services at a scale other organizations simply can’t — and to do so with transparency and public accountability.
If the governor wants to address the conditions that are preventing Oklahomans from working, he should focus on securing meaningful public investments that increase child care availability, ensure robust public education in all Oklahoma schools, provide readily available vocational training, expand health care access, and raise the minimum wage. To genuinely improve safety net programs like Medicaid (SoonerCare), SNAP, WIC, and TANF, the state can start by funding software maintenance of systems and streamlining application systems, such as what was proposed in Oklahoma’s HB 1575 (2025). But instead, decades of poorly designed tax cuts have cost the state billions of dollars annually, leaving the state ill-prepared to meaningfully address these issues and truly equip Oklahoma families to thrive.
OK Policy’s Fiscal Analyst Aanahita Ervin contributed to this statement.
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Resource links:
- Leaders shouldn’t ask nonprofits to do government’s job (Policy Matters) [Shiloh Kantz / OK Policy]
- Different Data Source, But Same Results: Most Adults Subject to Medicaid Work Requirements Are Working or Face Barriers to Work [KFF]
- Oklahoma Ranks Among the Best in the Nation for Medicaid Eligibility and Claims Payment Accuracy [ Oklahoma.gov Newsroom ]
- Fraud & Improper Payments: GAO examines fraud and improper payments in federal programs. [US Government Accountability Office]
- SNAP – What is an Improper Payment? [US Department of Agriculture]
- New OK Policy report shows intricate, fragile interconnectedness of public assistance programs for Oklahomans in need (2020) [OK Policy]
- Implementing HB 1575: National Best Practices on Reducing IT Project Risk | Oklahoma House Interim Study | Oct. 8, 2025 [OK Policy]
- Navigating red tape: An Oklahoman shares his story about difficulties applying for public assistance programs managed by state agencies | Oklahoma House Interim Study | Oct. 8, 2025 [OK Policy]
