National Resource Center for Youth Services: Oklahoma Successful Adulthood Program

This team is a group of young adults, ages 18-26, with lived experience in the Oklahoma foster care system. This group will provide leadership and guidance for the Child Welfare Youth Advisory Board and help OKDHS make decisions about services for youth in care.

LEx Leadership members:

• Provide important perspective on policy issues
• Collaborate on solutions and recommendations to OKDHS leadership to support improvements to the foster care system in Oklahoma.
• Advocate for priorities that are important to youth.
• Engage in leadership development and other activities designed to assist you in supporting other lived expert members involved with the board.
• Network with fellow lived expert members to provide mentorship and encourage their participation in meetings and events.

We encourage individuals with lived experience in foster care to apply if they are committed to improving foster care in Oklahoma and are willing to share their time, experience and ideas with others. We are looking for individuals who value collaboration and want to make a tangible difference, and who are eager to cultivate and enhance their advocacy and leadership skills.

OKSA LEx Leadership team members serve a two-year term. Continued participation beyond the initial year is not guaranteed and depends on eligibility (including age), participation, and ongoing program needs. Further details and expectations will be shared during the application and onboarding process.

This team usually meets 1-3 times a month for 60-90 minutes to prepare for the in-person CW YAB meetings. Further details on meeting times will be shared during the application and onboarding process. Meeting times are approximately 4 hours, including set up and clean up. Dinner will be provided.

You can apply by clicking here:

LEx Leadership Application Form (PDF)

Once you've filled out the form, either email the completed form or a scanned handwritten copy to OKSAevents@ou.edu.

Application deadline: October 29, 2026.

Two applicants will be selected to serve from December 2026 through December 2028.

Yes! We encourage applicants to continue attending OKSA activities and participate in meetings and events to strengthen their involvement and leadership experience before reapplying.