One Church, One Child of Oklahoma

What is One Church, One Child?

One Church, One Child is a nationally recognized special recruitment program designed to find parents for African-American children who need permanent homes. The program was founded in 1980 by Father George Clements, Pastor of Holy Angels Church in Chicago.

One Church, One Child of Oklahoma is sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in partnership with the One Church, One Child statewide Ministerial Advisory Council.

The One Church, One Child of Oklahoma offers a simple challenge to churches in the African-American Community. Each church is asked to recruit from its members at least one family to adopt or foster an African-American child.

• Inform the African-American community about the children who need adoptive and foster homes.
• Dispel myths and misconceptions regarding the adoption or foster care process.
• Find families who are interested in adopting or fostering African-American children.
• Increase the number of African-American children placed in permanent homes.

A statewide interdenominational Ministerial Advisory Council has been formed by pastors who are dedicated and committed to helping develop and implement this program on behalf of the waiting African-American children in the state of Oklahoma.

• You must be 21 years of age or older.
• You must be in reasonably good health
• You must be able to manage your income to meet the financial needs of your family.
• You must be capable of understanding, loving and accepting a child to whom you did not give birth.

• It’s not as hard as you think to adopt a child or be a foster parent.
• You don’t have to have a lot of money in the bank.
• You don’t have to own your own home.
• You can adopt or foster if you have other children.
• You can adopt or foster if you are single.
• You pay no agency fee. 
• Adoption is the permanent placement of a child with a family that has legally and emotionally accepted the child as their own.
• Twenty-five percent of the Oklahoma children in foster care are African-American; of those half are boys.
• Many African-American children in Oklahoma are waiting to be adopted through the Department of Human Services. Most are school age. Some are handicapped. Some have brothers and sisters and need a home together; few are infants.
• Foster home care is a planned, temporary placement providing 24-hour-a-day substitute care. It is a family protective service—a last resort when every effort to keep a family together has failed.
• Children placed in foster care range in age from birth to 18 years, and are of all races and religions. They may be in brother-sister groups, or have physical, mental or emotional handicaps.
• Foster parents receive a stipend to meet the child’s needs. 

If you would like more information on the One Church, One Child program, contact:

• One Church, One Child of Oklahoma 
• OKDHS Adoption Services