DHS declares the Pauline E. Mayer emergency children’s shelter officially closed
News Release
Phone: (405) 521-3027, Fax: (405) 522-3146
e-mail: Sheree.Powell@OKDHS.org
Ceremony at the shelter on Wednesday to officially turn off the lights.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has placed the last child remaining at the Pauline E. Mayer Shelter with a family and has declared the shelter officially closed. DHS will be holding a ceremonial “turning off the lights” with key staff members at 11 a.m. at the shelter located at 5909 N. Classen Court, Oklahoma City. Media are invited to attend.
The Pauline E. Mayer shelter is one of two large state-run emergency children’s shelters in Oklahoma that are being closed to better serve children coming into state custody from abuse or neglect.
DHS Director Ed Lake made the decision in January to close both the Mayer shelter in Oklahoma City and the Laura Dester Children’s Shelter in Tulsa as part of the agency’s efforts to reduce the use of emergency shelters statewide and place children directly into homes with families. These efforts are part of the Pinnacle Plan, the five-year improvement plan for the state’s foster care system.
“The closure of the Pauline Mayer Shelter is a significant accomplishment that has both a real and a symbolic impact for our state,” said Lake. “The closure of this facility and the declining numbers of children in shelters statewide shows that we have the ability to place children directly into family homes. It also signifies the vision that we have for the children of this state, and that is every child deserves a loving, safe family every day.”
The numbers of children being placed in DHS-operated and privately-run shelters statewide has decreased by 50 percent over the last 12 months. (See chart below Average Daily Shelter Populations for all shelters statewide Sept. 2014 – Oct. 2015).
Jami Ledoux, Director of Child Welfare Services said it was difficult a few years ago to envision a child welfare system that did not include shelters.
“Although, there was no doubt that we all dreamed of a time when all children could be placed with families, it was so difficult then to think about how we could do this work without emergency shelters,” said Ledoux. “I am in awe that we as a state are now this much closer to turning that vision into a reality.”
“I would like to thank all of our child welfare staff in Oklahoma County for working so hard over the past nine months to make this possible. Particularly, I would like to recognize Calvin Kelly, the regional director in Oklahoma County, for his leadership in helping his staff to see the vision and for motivating them to serve children in innovative ways. I would also like to thank Eugene Gissandaner for stepping up to manage the shelter during this time and lead the staff there in providing quality services for the children right up to the very last placement.”
DHS is working with Oklahoma County officials, juvenile court judges, and community members on how to best repurpose the shelter buildings for the use of services to children and families.
The Pauline E. Mayer Shelter has been in its current location at 5909 N. Classen Court for the past 26 years (since 1988).
Prior to 1975, the Oklahoma County Commissioners operated the “Blinn House” which served as an emergency shelter for children and juveniles. By written agreement with the County Commissioners, DHS (then known as the Department of Institutions, Social and Rehabilitative Services) assumed operation of the Blinn House. The Blinn House was closed in the years leading up to 1975 and the Oklahoma County Juvenile Shelter was created.
In May 1975, by virtue of Title 10, Oklahoma Statues, Section 1107, Judge Stewart Hunter entered a formal order to require DHS to provide Emergency Shelter Care for abused and neglected children and to operate a shelter facility for this purpose. The shelter became the place where the courts, police, and DHS workers could immediately place children and juveniles until more permanent arrangements could be made for their care.
In February 1977 the shelter was moved to a new location known as the Taylor Home. In January 1979 the shelter was moved again to an interim building at the Oklahoma Children’s Memorial Hospital Complex until a larger facility was purchased by DHS from the Culbertson School located on north Lottie in Oklahoma City. In January 1981, this space was remodeled and renamed the Pauline E. Mayer Children’s Center (PEMCC).
In 1988, the PEMCC moved to its current location at 5909 N. Classen Court and two years afterwards became known as the Pauline E. Mayer Shelter.
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Average Daily Shelter Populations for all shelters statewide Sept. 2014 – Oct. 2015 – includes Pauline E. Mayer Shelter, Laura Dester Children’s Shelter, and privately-run shelters operated by Youth Services Agencies and Tribes.
