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Oklahoma is one of only nine states to receive a $2 million federal grant to support the recruitment of kinship, foster and adoptive families for children in state custody.

Oklahoma's Bridge to the Future project will provide an innovative, evidence based approach to recruiting with funding provided for the "Diligent Recruitment of Families for Children in the Foster Care System."

The funds will be paid out at $400,000 annually over five years by the Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families. The ACF is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"We are pleased this project will be funded," said Connie Schlittler, OKDHS chief information officer. "It encompasses a multi-faceted, diligent recruitment program designed to assist states and tribes in the recruitment and support of foster and adoptive families for children in public foster care. We hope that these funds will enable us to take our foster care recruitment and retention efforts to the next level."

Competition for the funds was tough, with more than 40 states applying, Schlittler added. Oklahoma's project was well-received by the Children's Bureau.

Key elements of the program include a comprehensive recruitment plan, innovative approaches for recruitment of resource families, developing a rapid response resource center, use of technology to provide training, impart information and providing mentoring and support to resource families.

The project seeks to achieve the following outcomes: to increase the number of resource homes that mirror the racial and ethnic distribution of children and youth in care; to increase the percentage of resource families who will provide concurrent placement; to reduce the number of months in state custody for children; to increase the number of children leaving foster care; and to reduce the timeframes for parents to be approved for foster or adoptive placement.

A project manager will oversee the day-to-day activities of the program and other personnel will support statistics and research functions, Schlittler noted.

OKDHS will coordinate all project activities and partner with the Center for Public Management, College of Continuing Education Outreach at the University of Oklahoma to develop the initial planning document and implement the program for the following 4 years.