DHS balks at releasing employee birth dates

The state Department of Human Services, facing scrutiny for deaths and injuries to children and senior citizens under its supervision, has refused to release the birth dates of its employees.

Agency lawyers refused to disclose the birth dates when asked for the information by The Oklahoman.

Lawyers for DHS said releasing the information would be a "clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.” Media law and open government advocates disagree.

The refusal by DHS comes just months after it was discovered that several employees at a state-operated children's home worked for years without sexual offender or criminal background checks. The agency has thousands of employees, many of whom work daily with children and senior citizens.

Birth dates can be used to compare government employees to criminal court records. Without them it would be nearly impossible to ensure that the "John Smith” listed as employed by an agency is the same "John Smith” who committed a crime.

The Oklahoman requested the information recently under the state Open Records Act. Other state agencies release birth dates in their records.

Examples are voter registration and the criminal courts.

"If DHS has nothing to hide in terms of what kind of background checks are used for potential employees, then they have nothing to fear from providing us the dates of birth,” said Sue Hale, executive editor of The Oklahoman. "I believe the taxpayers expect us to do this type of research in order to reveal any threat to the safety of the most vulnerable of our citizens.”

An attempt to interview DHS Director Howard H.

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