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Governor, DHS Out to Recruit 1,000 New Foster Families by June 30

The Children's Society

Governor Mary Fallin and the Department of Human Services announce a new initiative to bolster Oklahoma’s ranks of foster families.

DHS Director Ed Lake said they have an ambitious goal with the Oklahoma Fosters initiative: recruit 1,000 new families by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

"And I want to assure you, this isn't just to meet our goals in the Pinnacle Plan," Lake said. "This is the right way to serve children who are abused and neglected and can't go home."

The Pinnacle Plan is a lawsuit settlement agreement under which the state foster system is monitored by court-appointed experts for a set period.

Fallin said there are nearly 11,000 children in state custody, mostly because of situations they have no control over. She and DHS are calling on businesses, nonprofits, faith-based groups and tribes to help find them caretakers.

"We’re too good of a people to allow any child in Oklahoma to live in a situation of crisis, in an abusive or vulnerable home with a lack of support that they need," Fallin said.

Fallin’s Native American Liaison Jackie Hensley said the tribes are already committed.

"From April to this October, the tribes and the DHS tribal liaisons have recruited 31 new tribal homes," Hensley said.

The state has launched a website to provide information about becoming a foster family. There's also a hotline for the program, 1-800-376-9729.

Fallin didn’t indicate how much it would cost to implement the proposal or achieve the goal.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.