AdoptUsKids to Honor Caseworkers for their Dedication to Children and Families
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 1, 2009 – AdoptUsKids announced today that Ms. Robin Gibson a Child Welfare Specialist III / Adoption Specialist with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, is the June recipient of its Caseworker of the Month award. This award is part of AdoptUsKids’ national initiative which celebrates caseworkers for their dedication to children and families. More information about Ms. Gibson and excerpts from her nomination by the military families that nominated her can be found along with this month’s award announcement on www.adoptuskids.org and www.adopte1.org.
Thousands of foster, adoptive and kinship families across the United States rely on their caseworkers every day to connect them to vital services, offer support and guidance, and ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of children in the foster care system.
Nearly 300,000 children in the United States enter the foster care system each year. Over half of these children will return to their parents, while the remainder of them will stay in the foster system awaiting identification of an alternate permanent family. Currently there are 496,000 children in the foster care system; approximately 130,000 are waiting for permanent families. Over 20,000 children “age out” of the system each year without being adopted. About half of the children in foster care are children of color, with older African American boys waiting the longest for adoption.
Jeff Black, an adoptive father, wrote, “I’m a single dad living overseas. I adopted my teen-aged son, Chris, last year out of Oklahoma. People like Robin Gibson are very special, because it requires so much extra knowledge and coordination to arrange a placement for a child overseas. I can only imagine the huge learning curve for the case worker and the organization for that first overseas placement. Many military families overseas owe a great debt to Robin and others like her.”
Reflecting on this recipient of the Caseworker of the Month initiative, AdoptUsKids’ Project Director, Kathy Ledesma said, “Robin Gibson’s work with these military families is a shining example of the excellent work that public and private child welfare agency caseworkers do everyday across the United States."
After being nominated for this award, Ms. Gibson stated “I am humbled and honored to be nominated for this award. Military families offer our children many unique and amazing opportunities and it is a privilege to work with families who are serving our nation both in the military and as adoptive parents.”
The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids
The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids is a multi-faceted, five-year, federally funded project. Its mission is to assist States and Tribes in their efforts to recruit and connect foster and adoptive families with waiting children throughout the United States. The Collaboration is managed by the Adoption Exchange Association (AEA) based in Baltimore, Maryland, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children's Bureau. For more information, call AdoptUsKids at (888) 200-4005.
Oklahoma Department of Human Services - Swift Adoption Services
The mission of the Swift Adoption Services is to secure an adoptive family for every waiting child for whom adoption is the goal. Children can be assured a permanent adoptive family through early identification, assessment and child preparation; aggressive recruitment and preparation of prospective adoptive parents; the elimination of legal and other barriers to adoption; and the adequate provision of supportive services. For more information, call (405) 521-3646.
Contact:
Kate Kirkpatrick
kkirkpatrick@adoptuskids.org
(717) 545-5251