News Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Justin Brown has named Dr. Deborah Shropshire, M.D., as Director of Child Welfare Services.
"Serving Oklahoma families and children has been a personal and professional priority all of my adult life, especially since I became a pediatrician," said Shropshire. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of children and families. The work of child welfare staff is incredibly challenging and I am grateful for the opportunity to lead and support staff statewide who dedicate their lives to the mission. Foster families are the pillar of a strong child welfare system and we look forward to growing our relationships with them to ensure we are serving children and families from a place of excellence."
"I am excited to announce Dr. Deborah Shropshire's promotion to the position of Director of Child Welfare within the Oklahoma Department of Human Services," said DHS Director Justin Brown. "Not only is Dr. Shropshire extremely qualified, but her passion and commitment to innovation will be cornerstones to our agency's plans to modernize towards service to our customer. During the last couple of months, I have had the opportunity to personally witness her devotion to the agency and our customers and I am looking forward to working directly with her to care for our state's most vulnerable children."
Since joining DHS, Shropshire has served our families and children in many roles including medical director for Child Welfare Services and Deputy Director of Child Welfare Community Partnerships. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. From 2001 to 2015, she was also medical director at the former Pauline E. Mayer Children's Shelter and helped develop the Fostering Hope Clinic for children in foster care, reviewed individual cases with child welfare caseworkers, helped develop policy and caseworker training and served on the Special Review Committee on child abuse and neglect deaths.
Shropshire is the recipient of multiple local and national awards including the 2014 National Ray Helfer Award for Child Abuse Prevention from the National Alliance on Children's Trust and Prevention Funds and the 2007 Commissioner's Award for Outstanding Service in the Field of Child Abuse and Neglect from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
Dr. Deborah Shropshire
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