The Chickasaw Nation Foster Care program, Chepota Apisi Chi Li, is in need of Chickasaw families to open their hearts and homes to foster children.

Chepota Apisi Chi Li, which means “Watching Over Our Children,” works daily to meet its mission statement: To provide safe and loving temporary or permanent care for Native American children. However, program officials say more homes are needed to meet the children’s needs.

“More families are needed,” said Jeanie Anderson, manager of the tribal foster care and adoption program. “There are tribal kids in DHS (Department of Human Services) custody all over Oklahoma. From a cultural aspect, we just want our (tribal) kids to be taken care of,” she said.

The need for all children and youth to have a stable, safe, and nurturing environment until they can be reunited with their family, she said, was vital to the future of these children.

Many foster family homes are at capacity, which means as many as six children call the residence home.

Foster care children come in all ages, and as of September 2006, there were almost 12,000 children in the foster care system in Oklahoma. The average age of foster children is eight. The average length of stay in a foster home was about 20 months in 2006.

In the Chepota Apisi Chi Li program, the foster family and the parents work together, along with the Chickasaw Nation and Indian Child Welfare (ICW) for reunification of the family.

“Reunification is our goal,” Anderson said.

It takes about 90 days, or less, to complete the application process, she said, and the effort can change a child’s life for the better.”

Criteria to become a tribal foster care family include a completed background check, tribal training course and home study.

Applicants must be at least 21 years old, and can either rent or own their home or apartment and can be single or married. Applicants must be willing to work as a team member and love a child.

The Chepota Apisi Chi Li was developed to provide foster care or adoptive children with education related to their cultural history through activities and events that promote cultural awareness. The program also strives to connect the children with elders to continue the teaching of traditional values, arts, crafts and other cultural activities.

For more information about the Chickasaw Nation Foster Care program, or how to become a Foster Care family, log on to www.chickasaw.net, or contact

Jeanie Anderson, tribal foster care and adoption program manager, at 580-272-5550, or at the Youth and Family Services Building, 231 Seabrook Road, Ada, Okla. 74820.