For children taken from their families because of mistreatment, a good foster home can be safe haven.

Sammie and Margo Stanford said they got interested in being foster parents once their three kids were grown and out of the home.

“I think she (his wife) was feeling a little empty nest syndrome,” Sammie said. “I was reluctant about going to the (orientation) classes. But once I got into it and we got the kids, I wanted to be a good provider for them. I teach karate and I try to involve them in that; it’s a confidence builder.”

Margo Stanford said they have taken care of foster children for time periods ranging from two to six years.

“We found out what a great need there was for foster families,” she said. “We figured we might be able to help somebody else. He’s the fun guy at home, and I’m the drill sergeant. We just wanted them to know they were safe and that someone was there to care for them. We go to Macedonia Baptist Church, and that helped, too.”

Beverly Smith, 64, said she became a foster parent more than 12 years ago after her three children were grown. She had divorced and moved from Porum to Muskogee.

“My reason was knowing first and foremost that children need someone to care for them and love them and provide them stability and structure,” she said. “I’ve had at least 90 in my house. I usually have six at a time. Right now I have three fosters and three adopted.”

Smith described one 10-year-old child she is caring for who had been kicked out of several schools for bad grades and fighting.

“I sat down and talked with her and told her that every time she went to a new school, she was just going to take that baggage with her,” she said. “I told her, ‘You have to make a choice, and you can grow from here.’”

Smith said that same girl is a straight-A student who didn’t know what she could accomplish until she tried.

“When I get children who have really been abused, they come in just wilted,” Smith said. “In your love for them they learn what life is all about. They give that love back in return. I’ve got a little one who will be 2 in July, and every time he sees me, he says ‘Grandma!’ and I know he feels secure, and he doesn’t have to worry about anything.”

Judy Wyatt, Area 5 Director, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said the state is always looking for good homes to take on the foster parent role.

“We have 152 foster homes in Muskogee,” she said. “Foster parents are people with caring hearts and time to devote to the children in temporary care. They can be married or single, but they need to have a source of income.”