COTTON COUNTY – Lynn McCarn received a phone call two years ago from a paramedic letting her know her son had been in an accident and was being life-flighted to OU Children’s Hospital.  

As she started the hour-and-a-half drive to the hospital from Ada, she received over a dozen texts from her church family asking how they could help and more from her work family committing to carrying her workload while she was gone.  

“I didn’t have to worry about anything because I have a community,” McCarn said at the CarePortal Launch in Cotton County. “The issue with the families we serve is they do not have that type of community. CarePortal gives churches the opportunities to know here are some people in your community, in your area, that need support and it gives them the opportunity to connect with them.” 

CarePortal is an online tool that creates a fast and effective way for agency partners to connect with local churches and community members around the needs of children and families they serve.  

McCarn, the Oklahoma Human Services Child Welfare Region 2 Deputy Director, has seen the positive impact CarePortal has on local communities and is excited to see churches become the support system for so many families.  

“Our greatest goal is to build a support system around the family so the next time their family is in crisis, they do have someone they can call,” she said. 

111Project is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission to mobilize the local church so every child has family. The organization’s initial goal is to mobilize 1,000 churches across Oklahoma that can serve at least one family a month on CarePortal and recruit and support a foster family every year.  

If 1,000 out of the 6,200 churches in Oklahoma commit to recruit and support one foster family a year, and serve one family a month on CarePortal, the state will move closer to having more than enough help for children and families in crisis. 

“Although it feels like an overwhelming and unsolvable crisis, the drum that we keep beating on is that there’s more than enough support out there,” 111Project Executive Director Chris Campbell said. “We just need to figure out how to mobilize it and bring families together that care for kids and families. It’s not a resource problem, it’s that we’re not connected.” 

Churches enrolled on CarePortal in Cotton County include Calvary Baptist in Walters, First Baptist in Temple, and Union Valley Baptist in Cookietown. First Baptist Church in Randlett also attended the launch. 

Cotton County has three children in foster care as of Feb. 1, according to monthly numbers released by the OKDHS. 

111Project Regional Manager Brady Sharp said there’s an opportunity for churches to serve families before, during, and after their time in foster care. 

“CarePortal makes us aware of needs that are in our community that we otherwise wouldn’t know were there,” he said. 

The first request submitted to Cotton County churches was for clothes, shoes, diapers, and wipes. A request estimated at $190 but would help support an aunt and uncle who recently became kinship foster parents of three children and needed help.  

Calvary Baptist committed to providing diapers and wipes and First Baptist Church Temple committed to providing clothing items. 

CarePortal has opened doors for meaningful support from churches to families in need throughout the state. Any churches or individuals interested in learning more or getting involved can visit 111project.org.