Over $5 Million in Federal Grant Funds Awarded for Child Welfare Services

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma is receiving nearly $5 million in federal grant funds to help improve services for children and families in foster care.

The Administration on Children Youth and Families, Children's Bureau awarded $3.2 million to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) on Thursday, September 27.  The Oklahoma Trauma Assessment and Service Center Collaborative (OK-TASCC) is a five-year project to provide effective mental and behavioral health services that match the needs of children, youth, and families.  Project partners include the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (CCAN) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the Chadwick Center for Children and Families in San Diego, the National Resource Center for Youth Services in Tulsa and the Andrus Children’s Center in New York. 

The project focuses on embedding trauma services into children’s shelters in Oklahoma converting the two OKDHS operated shelters to assessments centers where children receive trauma screenings and services when indicated.  The project also focuses on ensuring Oklahoma has a trauma-informed child welfare system that recognizes trauma and knows how to help children and families heal from their experiences. 

The Children’s Bureau also awarded a three-year $2 million project to NorthCare. The Family KINnections program will provide comprehensive care coordination to kinship foster families in Oklahoma County. OKDHS is a key project partner. Evaluation will be conducted by CCAN. NorthCare has been a leading provider of behavioral health and wellness services to adults, children, and families in Oklahoma County for over 30 years. The proposed project will expand NorthCare’s approach to providing wraparound care to a vulnerable population – kinship foster families in Oklahoma County.

Both federally funded projects will support the Pinnacle Plan, the state’s child welfare improvement plan.

“These two grant projects compliment the initiatives in the Pinnacle Plan by supporting the trauma initiatives and kinship foster families,” said Deborah G. Smith, Director, OKDHS Child Welfare Services. “We are thrilled Oklahoma successfully competed for these grants and appreciate our partners for their continued faith in our ability to improve the child welfare system. A special thank you to OKDHS and NorthCare staff who worked night and day to not only meet the grant proposal deadlines, but who wrote the grant in such a way Oklahoma was selected for both grants.  Congratulations!”

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