Lesley Gudgel, executive director, Child Assessment & Referral Program, at the Laura Dester Shelter in Tulsa, evaluates a 5-year-old recently admitted to the shelter. The CARE Program helps ensure children involved in child welfare receive an array of services to promote their well-being.
Lesley Gudgel remembers performing a developmental assessment on two brothers, ages 7 and 4, brought to the Laura Dester shelter in Tulsa.
“I did my best developmental screening,” said Gudgel, child development specialist and executive director for the pilot Child Assessment & Referral Program at the shelter. “I couldn’t understand a tenth of what they said.”
By pulling together all the resources of CARE, including an on-site nurse practitioner, an audiologist at Children’s Medical Center and a speech pathologist, Gudgel learned that the oldest boy had profound hearing loss. The younger child, while having good hearing, learned to speak from his brother. Gudgel was able to arrange for tubes to be inserted into the oldest boys ears and for both to receive speech therapy.
“They could have gone on for years without any help,” said Kay Saunders, Laura Dester Shelter assistant director and 16-year OKDHS employee.
“I can’t think of the shelter without this program. It’s such a wonderful service for our children.”
The program began in 2003 after a task force recommended that children receive developmental screenings when entering the child welfare system, which typically starts at the shelter. The children receive a health screening and Gudgel assesses children developmentally within 24 to 48 hours of entering the shelter.
“We saw this as a window of opportunity for children while they’re here to get services started initially,” said Gudgel. “Probably statistically half to 60 percent of the kids we see need some kind of service.”
Services include vision, dental, medical, mental health, behavioral and educational. Two Tulsa foundations provide grant funding for the pilot program, which includes Gudgel, an office manager and two part-time case managers.
The team enters all information about the children into the OKDHS Child Welfare KIDS system. The team also follows the children’s progress 30 days into foster care placement. For instance, if Gudgel schedules a dental appointment for a child, she ensures the foster parents know and are able to take the child to the appointment. In three years, CARE has assessed and provided resources for 4,265 children.
“We’ve seen more and more kids come into care,” said Saunders. “Many have had severe neglect – medical, dental, vision and educational. This is a unique program that provides continuity and hope.”