The board is responsible for setting the policies of the Department, approving the annual budget request, and working with the Director of Corrections on material matters of the agency.

After a disputed report on the conditions in the Kansas Penitentiary, Oklahoma opened an institution in the former federal jail in McAlester.

[3] In 1973, a three-day riot resulted in the destruction of most of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and the death of three inmates.

[3] On 29 August 1983, the Dick Conner Correctional Center was hit by a riot that resulted in an inmate death.

Under current Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt, Tricia Everest is serving as the secretary.

[8] That budget is derived primarily from yearly appropriations, Departmental fees and funds generated by the Prison Industries activities.

In late 2017, the department requested more than 1.5 billion dollars, triple its usual budget to make long-delayed improvements.