Library: News Release
Oklahoma City---The Pontotoc County office of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) has added a new nursery room to its facility. The employees held a fundraiser allowing co-workers to wear jeans on certain days. They used the funds to build the nursery room and dedicated it to the infants in DHS custody.
County Director Ken Province had an idea to construct a room for parents and their babies to bond during the visitation hours.
“The nursery room creates a very comfortable atmosphere desiring to make the parents and their children feel as though they are in a home like setting,” said Province.
Unfortunately, the numbers of infants coming into Oklahoma DHS custody are increasing. An estimated 16 percent of children in DHS custody are less than a year old.
Region 4 Deputy Director Zane Gray said the new nursery room provides a positive change to the office.
“Ken had this vision to create this room,” said Gray, “and he saw it through with the contributions of the employees. That is good leadership.”
The words displayed on the nursery wall read, “Every child has a story yet to be told.”
“This statement emphasizes how important it is to do the best we can to have a positive impact on these babies lives,” said Province.
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