OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- A 5-year, $1 million grant will target foster children aged 16 to 20 years of age in rural areas who lack a support system or family structure and are about to age out of state custody through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

OKDHS is developing the Oklahoma Bridge to Independence Network, working with resources in the rural communities to develop support systems for rural, homeless youth.

The project will be supported by an Department of Health and Human Services' Family and Youth Services Bureau grant with $200, 000 available each of the five years.

Many state and local partners will help develop project activities during the planning stage.

Key partners in the project are Youth and Family Services, Inc.; Oklahoma and the National Resource Center for Youth Services at the University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma Association of Youth Services; Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy and Governor’s Interagency Council on the Homeless.

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