Last year The Adoption Exchange worked with the state of Oklahoma to find adoptive families for 43 children from the foster care system.

Forty-three is a small percent of the state’s total adoptions. But these are the children who have been passed over and require extra efforts from all of us if they are to have a family in their future.

And I am beginning to think that there isn’t anything the adoption staff in Oklahoma wouldn’t do to give every child a family.

A few years ago I spent a little time in Oklahoma with colleagues from the National Military Family Association and VIDA (a New York based adoption placement agency). We’d been invited to encourage the state adoption staff to reach out to families in the military. *

That’s all it took – since then the state of Oklahoma has placed two dozen children with military families all over the globe.

Recently one of the Oklahoma staff members made an unusual personal visit to one of our “profile parties” in Colorado. These are events where the youth who wait for adoption are featured through video tapes and attractive posters. At the party the caseworkers spend time talking with prospective families, whose children are entertained by volunteers. And of course there is food – what is a party without food, right?

I walked past an information table that was clearly representing Oklahoma. There were photographs and profile descriptions of waiting children on display at the table….and a cell phone.

Well, when I reported to one of our staff that someone had left a cell phone, she smiled and said, “Oh no, that’s the caseworker from Oklahoma. She couldn’t travel to Colorado today, so she is on the phone right now and available to talk to any parent who picks up the cell phone to visit with her.”

I like that. I like knowing that the children in Oklahoma are served by a team of caseworkers, supervisors and administrators who don’t want to miss a chance to find a family for one of the waiting children. To view photographs of children who are the focus of their efforts right now, click here.

Hats off to Deborah, Linda, Robin, Andrea and all of our Oklahoma colleagues!


Learn more about The Adoption Exchange’s Programs in Oklahoma.

* View Military Families Family Life resource information here.

View a guidebook for adoption caseworkers, supervisors and administrators here.

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Tags: adopt, Adopting, Adoption Profile Party, Adoption Recruitment, Adoption Resouces, Adoption Resource, adoptive families, Children's Charities, Dixie van de Flier, Foster Care, Foster Care Adoption, Oklahoma Adoption, Oklahoma Adoption Exchange, The Adoption Exchange