Closed youth shelter to undergo $2M renovation

A former shelter for abused and neglected juveniles will be transformed to provide services to families with children in foster care.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services closed the shelter at 5909 N Classen Court in November 2015 as it moved to place more children in state custody with foster families.

The former Pauline E. Mayer Shelter sits next to the Oklahoma County Juvenile Justice Center, which makes it a convenient place for DHS workers to meet with parents whose children are in foster care.

“Families are coming to the courthouse already for court,” said Deborah Shropshire, M.D., a deputy director in the child welfare division.

Following a $2 million renovation, the building will house coordinated care services for families coming into the foster care system, Shropshire said. Families will be assessed by a group of professionals to determine what the children need and what the parents need.

Parents who need substance abuse counseling, help with transportation or other services will be referred to agencies who can provide that. They will continue coming to the DHS building for visits with their children and for parenting classes, she said.

Currently it is taking too long for families in the child welfare system to get the services they need to get the family back together, Shropshire said. “That’s not good for families.”

On Wednesday the Board of County Commissioners deeded the building to DHS so it can move ahead with the renovation. The abandoned shelter is in need of major repairs, which the county cannot afford, Commissioner Ray Vaughn said.

Shropshire said funding from the Arnall Family Foundation and a private donor will pay for the renovation, and staff from partner agencies are providing various services.

The building will house the child welfare staff and a team from Northcare, visitation rooms similar to a home setting, assessment space and a place for educational programs like parent support groups and skills training for youth about to age out of foster care, Shropshire said.

The project is expected to take 18 months once a contractor is hired.

In the interim, child welfare is using space on the nearby Chesapeake Energy campus. “What that’s allowed us to do is go ahead and start serving families,” Shropshire said.

DHS continues to operate one juvenile shelter in Tulsa, spokeswoman Sheree Powell said. Children there include large sibling groups and children with medical, developmental and behavioral issues.

“Those children a very hard to find a right foster home for,” Powell said.

Turning the former Oklahoma City shelter into a center for family-centered services is exciting, she said.

“It has a great purpose now.”