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

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(shared by Marland’s Place) • Sun N Fun – Foster kids are free; parents and other children are $8 (2021 summer pricing). • Doodle Academy – Discounts vary. • RecPlex – All activities are $15 for foster kids, example: taking a kid to Kids Night Out or signing them up for basketball. • Community Auto Repair – Offers discounts for low-income and foster families on vehicle repairs. • Living Hope – Foster parents can receive diapers, wipes, formula, baby food and infant/ toddler clothing for free. • Kay County Resource Closet at Marland’s

Place – Clothing for newborns to teenagers, as well as essentials like cribs, toddler beds, suitcases, strollers, etc. This is available to any foster family, not just our own.

Benefits explanation: https://okfosters.org/benefits/ Business sign up: https://okfosters.org/get-involved/partner-now/ Foster Stats: http://18.116.244.251/ 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.

FOSTER Continued from Page 10 burdens any way we can. The discounts some of the amazing local businesses provide are really a blessing for these families.”

Recently, a local reader and foster parent brought a program run by the State of Oklahoma to our attention. The State’s website explains the program briefly, “As a certified Oklahoma Foster family, you gain elite access to a variety of community services and products that are being offered to you at a discount or complimentary because of your tremendous compassion to the children in state care and opening up your home and heart to our foster children. All you have to do to redeem these wonderful benefits is to present your ‘Oklahoma Foster Parent Exclusive Membership Card’ that was sent to you in the mail upon certification.” Businesses who would like to offer discounts to foster families can sign up online here www. okfosters.org/get-involved/partner-now/. The signup page is extremely easy to navigate. Business owners are asked to put in their logo, basic information and list what they are willing to offer foster families. There are no requirements. As a business owner, you can choose to offer whatever you would like. If you already offer a military discount, why not extend that to foster families? Can you afford to offer a 10% discount to a handful of families each year?

It is well-known that local businesses are asked for donations year-round. It is also understood that not every business can afford to offer additional discounts or donations on top of an already full annual budget. However, there are likely some businesses out there that could afford to offer a small discount to those families in our community making such a great sacrifice. There are so many things about Ponca City and Kay County that make our community great. It would be amazing if among those things we could list supporting and caring for our foster families well.