National Organization Honors OKDHS Adoption Worker

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL--- A national adoption collaboration has selected an OKDHS adoption worker as Caseworker of the Month.

Robin Gibson, OKDHS child welfare /adoption worker, is the June 2009 Caseworker of the Month for AdoptUsKids, a cooperative agreement with The Children’s Bureau and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

This award is part of AdoptUsKids’ national initiative which celebrates caseworkers for their dedication to children and families.

Gibson was nominated by the foster parents she serves and was selected from a national pool of nominees. She has worked for OKDHS for more than 10 years and has worked in the adoption program for the last several years. She is also the organizer for the annual OKDHS military families recognition event held in Oklahoma City that honors military families for serving as foster and adoptive families, all while also serving their country through their military service.

“I am humbled and honored to be nominated for this award,” Gibson said. “Military families offer our children many unique and amazing opportunities and it is a privilege to work with families who are serving our nation both in the military and as adoptive parents.”

Jeff Black, an adoptive father, wrote in his nomination, “I’m a single dad living overseas. I adopted my teen-aged son, Chris, last year out of Oklahoma. People like Robin Gibson are very special, because it requires so much extra knowledge and coordination to arrange a placement for a child overseas. I can only imagine the huge learning curve for the case worker and the organization for that first overseas placement. Many military families overseas owe a great debt to Robin and others like her.”

Toni Langlitz, foster parent, wrote in her nomination, “What impresses me most about Robin is her immediate feedback. I have asked her a number of questions and she has always responded quickly and professionally with pertinent information. I know that most case workers are extremely taxed with their caseload, but it is a breath of fresh air to know that if I have any questions or concerns I can depend on Robin to get back to us right away.”

“Robin Gibson’s work with these military families is a shining example of the excellent work that public and private child welfare agency caseworkers do everyday across the United States,” stated Kathy Ledesma, AdoptUsKids’ project director.

More information about Gibson and excerpts from her nomination by the military families that nominated her can be found along with this month’s award announcement on http://www.adoptuskids.org/ (Link opens in new window) and http://www.adopte1.org/. (Link opens in new window)

The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids is a multi-faceted, five-year, federally funded project. Its mission is to assist states and tribes in their efforts to recruit and connect foster and adoptive families with waiting children throughout the United States. For more information, call AdoptUsKids at 888-200-4005.

The mission of the OKDHS Swift Adoption Services is to secure an adoptive family for every waiting child for whom adoption is the goal. Children can be assured a permanent adoptive family through early identification, assessment and child preparation; aggressive recruitment and preparation of prospective adoptive parents; the elimination of legal and other barriers to adoption; and the adequate provision of supportive services. For more information, call 405-521-3646 or visit www.OKDHS.org​

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