Foster Care Cards Story by Chelsea McConnell/Staff Writer
If you’ve ever read any stories about what it’s like to be a foster parent, you are well aware of the absolute selflessness it takes. Ponca City Monthly founder and editor Kelsey Wagner wrote a beautiful story about the love it takes to be a foster parent in PCM’s February 2021 issue. Kelsey pointed out that foster parents love children in their greatest time of need, after they’ve been pulled from the only home they’ve ever known. While we often think of the extreme emotional toll fostering requires, it is important to speak about the financial toll as well. Many foster parents would do more if only they could. Allyson Broome, Director of Development at Marland’s Place, gives us some insight into the topic. “Foster care can place a significant financial burden on foster families. OKDHS does issue a standard reimbursement that is adjusted by the child’s age, but it is a reimbursement not a stipend or compensation. These funds are not available to the families until the following month that a child is placed in their home. OKDHS usually provides these funds by the 10th of the following month, but it can take as long as the 21st of the month. Additionally, if you are a kinship home, you do not receive payment until you complete your
training and receive your kinship home certification. So you could potentially go months without any financial support. Kids typically come with little to no personal items. So not only are you providing food and shelter, you have to find clothes and shoes that fit and age-appropriate toys and comfort items. Typically, there is no additional money given for extras, such as soccer cleats or tap shoes.” It bears repeating, foster parents receive reimbursements, not stipends or compensation. This means they spend their own money on the foster children in their home. I would venture that there are a lot of items not eligible for reimbursement that far surpass the cost of soccer cleats and tap shoes. Broome goes on to say this about the families they work with through Marland’s Place, “They truly are not in this for what little money exchanges hands. They have huge hearts and do this because they care for children, and we want to lessen their See FOSTER Continued on Page 12
10 JUNE 2022
