DHS partners with Life.Church, sees significant increase in potential foster families

The partnership between Life.Church and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) lead to a significant increase of families who are interested in becoming foster or adoptive parents for children in state custody. In the beginning of May, Life.Church shared a message about the role of church members in offering assistance to children who need permanent homes. During the following few weeks, informational seminars on the foster care and adoption process were held at Life.Church satellites throughout Oklahoma.
In the two weeks after the Life.Church message was shared, DHS received approximately 320 inquiries about foster care and adoption. This number is double the amount of inquiries the previous two weeks and DHS leaders are thankful to see the significant increase.

 "We are incredibly appreciative of the partnership with both Life.Church and Oklahoma Fosters as well as with the numerous other faith organizations that are supporting our work with foster children and their families," said DHS Child Welfare Director Jami Ledoux.  "What I love the most about this partnership is the message about not only helping children by fostering but also by supporting their biological families.  We as an agency are continually working to preserve and restore families and keep children connected to their culture and their community. These are values shared by our faith partners such as Life.Church, which makes this collaboration a perfect fit. 

Ledoux said it has been incredible for Child Welfare Services to watch the transformation occurring in Oklahoma from primarily a single state agency responsible for the safety, permanency, and well-being of foster children to a collaborative approach with a multitude of public and private partners working together to end the days of children waiting for families.   

"A primary commitment in the Pinnacle Plan created four years ago was to engage local communities and agency partners in a different way to improve outcomes for children and families. It is a beautiful thing to watch the shared vision set out in Oklahoma's Pinnacle Plan become a reality and gratitude is extended to everyone who has played a part in creating and carrying out this vision."

If you would like more information about fostering, adopting, or making a difference in the lives of children in foster care, go to www.okfosters.org.

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