State in Dire Need of Quality Foster Homes

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- On the eve of November, which is nationally recognized as Adoption Month, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is witnessing more than 7,000 children in foster care in Oklahoma, a record for our state. That’s a 14 percent increase in 12 months.

“We’ve looked into this increase to see if we could find an explanation,” said Joani Webster, programs administrator. “There’s no single trend we can point to as a cause for this increase, but the abuse and neglect is all too real. This is a trend we do not want to see continue.”

This record number includes children placed in basic foster care, tribal, contract, kinship and non-relative kinship foster care. More than 80 percent of children are placed in foster care as a result of neglect by their parent or legal guardian. And the Children’s Defense Fund estimates that every 38 minutes a child becomes the victim of abuse or neglect in Oklahoma.

“We can’t rely on just kinship foster care for every child,” said Webster. “Many times there are no relatives available to place these children with. We have a dire need for foster homes in Oklahoma. Now more than ever we need to find these children a stable home so we can hopefully begin to help correct the problems and reunite them with their birth parents whenever possible.”

If you or someone you know would like to experience the rewards of becoming a foster parent, or if you would like to become a volunteer or donate items to an OKDHS children’s shelter, please call 1-800-376-9729, or click on www.OKDHS.org.

To report suspected abuse or neglect, call 1-800-522-3511, or contact your local OKDHS Human Services Center.

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