Grady County Commissioners review Indigent Final Disposition Assistance Program

Jessica Lane, The Express-Star, Chickasha, Okla.
·2 min read

Feb. 13—The Grady County Commissioners are in the process of updating their program to provide burial or cremation assistance.

On Tuesday, the commissioners officially approved the name change from the "Pauper's Burial Charitable Program" to the "Indigent Final Disposition Program."

Gary Bray, District 3 Commissioner, said he wanted to make sure the language within county documents allows for either burial or cremation.

Some counties will allow for a decedent's family to request a burial if the person was 16-years-old or younger. Though, children have not been common recipients for this assistance in Grady County.

Cremation is the most common form of final disposition in such programs, though this decision is not made by the board of commissioners. The commissioners would only approve the assistance itself, Kirk Painter, District 2 Commissioner said.

The commissioners also discussed other details such as who would perform the services as well as where to bury these individuals. Previously the funeral homes were chosen via rotation.

Zac Davis, District 1 Commissioner brought up the possibility of getting quotes from funeral homes in order to determine how much assistance the county may offer.

The commissioners will also consider what to do with remains that have been returned to the county. Davis suggested that some cemeteries in the county may be willing to donate a plot in these cases. There was further discussion about reaching out to veteran's services in the case the decedent was a veteran.

According to discussion during the meeting, there has been an increase of decedents who do not have the funds or family to pay for final disposition services.

Kim Thomas-Smith, Grady County Commissioner's Administrative Assistant, said the last two have been homeless individuals with no family.

Bray said some counties have only had two or three a year but there have been significantly more in his district. Davis said his district has had up to two or three a month.