Former Foster Teen in Pushmataha County Says Foster Youth Need Love and Acceptance

OKLAHOMA CITY – A Pushmataha County teenager named Harley knows what it feels like to move from one foster home to another.

“I was in foster care from the time I was 13 to the time I was 17,” said Harley. “I came from an abusive home, had a bad relationship with my family, and spent multiple months in and out of foster care. I stayed in shelters because we only have so many foster homes available in Pushmataha County and the homes that were available definitely weren’t interested in a teenager."

Like thousands of other children and youth in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS), Harley was removed from an unsafe situation and needed foster care. DHS partners with four private sector foster care agencies to recruit foster families statewide. There is a critical need for reliable foster homes for teenagers, sibling groups and children with special needs.

Harley thinks there is a misconception about teenagers in foster care and she hopes more Oklahomans will consider becoming foster parents.

"I think people view us as 'troubled,' but we just need to be treated with love, care, admiration, acceptance, and be adored. We need to realize that the children foster parents bring into their homes aren’t broken. We don’t need to be ‘fixed’ - we aren’t ‘different’ - we’re just children who feel the same need to be loved just like every other child.”

DHS child welfare supervisor Lynn McCarn says teenagers like Harley often come from difficult family situations, but finding the right foster family can make all the difference in a young life. 

“Harley is a great kid,” said McCarn. “She’s very intelligent and very funny. She has big plans for the future and I have no doubt she can accomplish her goals. She’s been though a lot, but she has turned lemons into lemonade.”

Harley graduated high school at the top of her class and plans to attend Oklahoma State University this fall. Her foster mother was granted guardianship of Harley and provides the teenager with the thing she wanted most: a family.

“I have a family I am very proud of,” said Harley. “My mom helps me with anything I need. I have two sisters, an amazing sister-in-law, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and best friends that I consider family. They aren’t my biological family, but they stepped-up to the plate and took me in as one of their own.”

For more information about how to become a foster parent, call 800-376-9729 or visit the Bridge Family Resource Center website at www.okbridgefamilies.com.

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