Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
For Immediate Release: May 6, 2008
Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, Foster Care Association of Oklahoma
Executive Vice President and Event Coordinator Lana Freeman, Rep.
Susan Winchester, DHS Director of the Children and Family
Services Division and DHS Director Howard Hendrick
Sen. Wilcoxson talks to reporters about her experience as a foster
mother.
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and Sen. Wilcoxson speak at "Heart and
Soles" rally.
Group Puts “Heart
and Soles” into Supporting Oklahoma Foster Children
Foster and adoptive parents along with child advocates gathered
at the State Capitol Tuesday to rally for Oklahoma’s 12,000
foster children. Several hundred pairs of shoes dotted the south
steps as a small representation of those children. The Foster Care
Association of Oklahoma, Inc. (FCAO) collected the shoes throughout
April as part of their “Heart and Soles” program to
help raise awareness about the needs of the state’s foster
care system.
“May is National Foster Care Month and as part of that we
wanted to come to the Capitol to help raise awareness about the
needs of the foster care system. Our state leaders need to understand
that children are our state’s greatest asset and resource,”
said Lana Freeman, FCAO Executive Vice President “Legislative
priorities need to reflect the importance of supporting children,
particularly children in foster care.”
The FCAO is requesting a 25 percent room and board increase for
all foster children. Freeman pointed out that in 2006 foster children
received a $1 raise – the first raise in 30 years. The Department
of Human Services (DHS) began giving families money for clothes
that year instead of vouchers, a move that saved the agency money
but as Senator Wilcoxson pointed out is providing less money for
children each year.
“As a foster parent, my husband and I know the challenging
and severe hardships faced by foster families and the birth families.
These children must go through the traumatic experience of being
taken away from their families - regardless of the horrible circumstances
- and placed in new homes with new people, different expectations
and unfamiliar surroundings,” said Wilcoxson, R-Oklahoma City.
“We are asking the
generous and compassionate people of Oklahoma and the legislature
to not forget nor ignore the emotional, physical and education needs
of these thousands of children.”
There are over 12,000 children in Oklahoma’s foster care system,
but only 2,643 licensed family foster homes. Oklahoma’s current
monthly foster care rates include $365 for children up to the age
of five, $430 for those from six through twelve and $498.33 for
those thirteen years and older. A national research study has established
Foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children (Foster Care MARC)
for all 50 states. According to MARC, Oklahoma’s foster care
rates must be increased by up to 53% in order to cover the real
costs of providing care for children.
"We need to work on improving our foster care system. We're
dealing with children's lives and their futures. Kids are sometimes
bounced from home to home, or worse, into shelters, because we simply
don't have enough foster homes," said Winchester, R-Chickasha.
"Foster families provide safe, nurturing homes for so many
children who desperately need them. It is vital that we support
them - financially, structurally, and emotionally - and thank them
for all they do."
Having inadequate reimbursement rates takes a heavy toll on foster
parent recruitment and retention. Due to the shortage in funds and
foster parents, nine percent of Oklahoma’s foster children
are placed in facilities rather than family foster homes. On average
foster children spend nearly two years in the system and will live
in four different homes.
“We started this campaign with one thing in mind – to
bring our foster children to life through shoes. For legal reasons,
these children couldn’t come to the Capitol, so the public
and legislators couldn’t see their faces, but today they got
to see their hearts and soles and I hope it made a powerful impact
on them,” said Freeman.
– 30 –
Background: The Oklahoma Department
of Human Services has requested $6,697,000 to increase foster care
rates to $18/day ($558/month); $9,439,000 to increase adoption assistance
rates to $18/day. OKDHS is further requesting $3,297,000 to hire
68 new child welfare workers in order to bring case loads closer
to the national average. Total request: $19,433,000
For more information contact:
Senator Wilcoxson's Office: (405) 521-5618
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