State’s foster capacity growth outpaces nation

The number of available foster homes in Oklahoma rose by more than 3,300 over the past five years, a figure that dwarfs other states’ growth.

A nationwide report from the Chronicle of Social Change shows Oklahoma reported a foster care capacity for 5,612 children last year. Only 25 states were included in the report because others did not respond to the nonprofit’s requests or handed over incomplete data.

Jami Ledoux, director of child welfare services for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said she is proud that the agency’s work is being recognized.

“However, what is most important is that we have improved the experiences of children who come into contact with our system due to abuse or neglect,” Ledoux said. “While we focused efforts with Gov. Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma Fosters Initiative to recruit more foster families, we were simultaneously increasing family-centered services to keep children safe in their homes and reduce the need for foster care.”

The number of children in state custody continues to fall.

According to data provided by DHS to the Chronicle, Oklahoma finished the year with more than 9,000 children living out of home in state custody. The minors are in foster homes, awaiting adoption, undergoing inpatient care or partially reunited with their families. Each year since 2015, the number of children in state custody has fallen by about 1,000.

Ledoux cautioned interpreting the report as a sign that foster families are no longer needed.

“This is huge for our state and our kids but we still have work do to. We still need foster homes for sibling groups

in every community and we need homes to fit the unique needs of each child,” she said.

“There are brothers and sisters who are placed in different foster homes outside their communities because the right homes are not available for them. There are youth who have special medical needs or disabilities and those with behavioral challenges who are going into shelters who also need loving homes.”

In 2012, Oklahoma began reforming its foster care system under the Pinnacle Plan, a set of policy changes and goals set out under a court order after a lawsuit against the state’s child welfare service. The child welfare system is now monitored by a team of co-neutrals who report back to the court about the state’s progress.

DHS boasts several improvements in foster care, including data that show children are more likely to be able to safely remain in their own homes while their families get the help they need. If they are removed, children are now more likely to live with a foster family than remain in an emergency shelter, and the foster families are more likely to be another family member or someone the child knows.

“This goes to show the success of what we’ve seen from the Pinnacle Plan,” said Joe Dorman, CEO of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. “This was the first year where we really received positive results from co-neutrals in the analysis of what’s happening. We’re finally seeing those results we need for foster care.”

Dorman also said that the state’s fiscal situation could send that progress on a backslide if there are funding reductions at DHS.

“I’m scared to death that these budget cuts at the Capitol and potential rollbacks with the new administration will undo all the good work that’s happened over the last seven years,” he said.