Shyers to be Honored at 2015 Oklahoma Kids Count Conference
The Laura Choate Resilience Award will be presented at the 2015 Oklahoma Kids Count Conference, sponsored by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) and Sunbeam Family Services.
This year’s recipient, Treba Shyers, is an advocate for children in the foster care system, serving as dually adjudication and post adjudication review board coordinator for the Tulsa County Juvenile Bureau. As a former foster child, Treba is committed to providing appropriate solutions for foster children and supporting them even after they age out of the system. Treba has overcome trauma and depression, experienced as a result of her time in foster care, to work for the betterment of the lives of Oklahoma children.
“Treba Shyers’ life story is a perfect example of resilience,” said Terry Smith, OICA director. “She recovered from a difficult childhood living in multiple foster homes to now being a passionate advocate for children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She truly cares about these children and is more than worthy of this award.”
The Laura Choate Resilience Award was created to celebrate individuals who have been significantly impacted by adverse childhood experiences but have overcome obstacles, made a lasting contribution to the lives of young people, exhibit bravery and demonstrate dedication to fostering resilience in youth.
The award is named for Laura Choate, a lifelong advocate for Oklahoma children and the first recipient of the Resilience Award. Laura has worked with the OICA to reform the state’s child welfare and juvenile justice system to better serve and protect Oklahoma children. As a youth, Choate was a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit that resulted in effective changes to Oklahoma’s juvenile justice system and was used as a model by many other states to establish higher standards.
The Oklahoma Kids Count Conference provides training to improve the lives of Oklahoma children and discuss issues impacting them. Topics at this year’s conference include: foster parent training, early childhood development, mental health, substance abuse, family preservation and poverty. The conference will be hosted September 9-10 at the University of Central Oklahoma. To register for the conference, visit http://oica.org/oklahoma-kids-count-conference/.
