By Devyn Lyon, Fox23 News
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has launched a new Youth Advisory Board aimed at improving the state’s foster care system by listening directly to people who have experienced it.
The board includes teens, parents and young adults who are currently in, or recently left, foster care. State leaders say their firsthand perspectives will help guide decisions and identify areas where the system can improve.
“We can begin to make sure every child that enters into Oklahoma’s child welfare system, into foster care, will end up better off than when they came in,” said Michael Williams. “That’s got to be the commitment we make to our children in this state.”
Williams said the advisory board is designed to turn personal experience into policy insight.
“And so that experience becomes youth with expertise,” Williams said. “That expertise then gets organized and structured in an advisory way to the leadership of the child welfare agency.”
The board’s goals include:
- Identifying what works and what does not in the foster care system
- Recommending improvements involving foster homes, placements and court processes
- Helping shape career and life pathways for young people leaving foster care
The advisory board launches as Oklahoma continues to face significant foster care needs.
Nationally, for every 100 children entering foster care, only 57 licensed homes are available.
According to DHS, about 6,000 children are currently in Oklahoma’s foster care system, and the state needs more than 500 additional foster homes.
“If we want to know how good our system is, we need to talk to the youth who are in it and the parents who are experiencing it,” Williams said. “They will tell us exactly what we need to know about the areas in our system that we need to improve.”
Board members have already raised ideas about extending the age young people can remain in care beyond 18 and improving communication so children in foster care have a stronger voice in court.
The Youth Advisory Board is currently seeking members between the ages of 16 and 23 who are currently in the child welfare system or have previously spent time in it.
Those interested in joining the board can contact the Oklahoma Successful Adulthood Program at 1-800-397-2945.
DHS leaders say they are also looking for diverse representation from rural communities, suburbs and cities across the state.
With the launch of the board, Oklahoma becomes the first state to join A Home for Every Child, a national initiative led by the Administration for Children and Families focused on ensuring every child has access to a safe and stable home.
Oklahomans interested in becoming foster parents can learn more and apply through OK Fosters by clicking here.
