State gets $5 million in grants for children's services
BY RANDY ELLIS NewsOK.com
Saturday, October 06, 2012
10/06/12 at 6:19 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma has been awarded more than $5 million in federal grants to help transition state children's shelters into assessment centers and help workers better recognize and treat abused and neglected children for emotional trauma.
The federal Administration on Children, Youth and Families' Children's Bureau has awarded $3.2 million to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and $2 million to NorthCare, a nonprofit, charitable organization that provides behavioral health and wellness services to children, adults and families in central and western Oklahoma.
"I'm pretty excited" about the grants, said Deborah Smith, director of DHS Child Welfare Services. "In all my years of working in child welfare, ... the work around trauma is one area that just really gets me excited."
The state has traditionally concentrated its child welfare efforts on trying to get children removed from dangerous family situations and placed in safe environments.
Original Print Headline: State gets $5.2 million in grants for child services
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