Oklahoma City — A relatively new post-adoption support program is trying to fill a gap many families say opens the day an adoption is finalized: ongoing help for children who come from traumatic backgrounds. The program, called Beyond, is run by Circle of Care, an affiliate of the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference, and officially began serving families in October 2024.
What Beyond offers
Beyond provides trauma-informed resources, direct family services, training and support groups designed for adoptive and foster families navigating the complex challenges of parenting children who have experienced abuse, neglect or other disruptions. The program’s leader, adoptive mother and long-time adoption advocate Cindy Boecking, said the work often starts after legal finalization.
"Adoption finalization is a beautiful milestone, but for many families, it's also where the hardest work begins," Cindy Boecking said.
Circle of Care CEO Keith Howard emphasized the organization’s long-standing mission and framed Beyond as an extension of that work: helping families after adoption rather than stopping support at finalization. Beyond was launched with one-time grant funding — roughly $75,000 combined from the United Way of Central Oklahoma and a Petree Grant from the Oklahoma Methodist Foundation.
Early reach and limits
In its first year, Beyond recorded tangible early usage:
- 59 services provided to families
- 105 attendees at support groups and events
- 95 attendees at trauma-informed training sessions
Those numbers show demand, but the program’s capacity remains a concern. Boecking noted there are about 21,000 adoptees in Oklahoma, and at present she is the program’s sole staff member. "I want to serve all the families in the entire state, but I'm limited with my capacity because it's a small program," she said.
Why it matters locally
Oklahoma’s foster and adoption community has long relied on a patchwork of supports: faith-based agencies, county services, counseling providers and informal peer networks. A program that combines training, direct services and regular peer support can reduce isolation for parents and connect children with therapeutic resources earlier. For rural families or those distant from bigger cities, centralized programs often struggle to maintain statewide reach without additional funding or partnerships.
What families and providers should know
Beyond’s leaders say the program is trauma-informed and designed to multiply impact across the state, but growth will depend on funding and staffing. Circle of Care has a history in the state — the agency has provided foster care and prevention services since 1917 — which could help when seeking partners to expand Beyond’s reach.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Adoptees in Oklahoma | 21,000 |
| Startup funding | $75,000 (United Way of Central Oklahoma; Petree Grant) |
| Services provided in year one | 59 |
| Support groups & event attendees | 105 |
| Trauma trainings attendees | 95 |
For adoptive and foster families seeking support, Beyond may offer an entry point to peer groups, training and referrals. For policymakers and funders, the program’s early metrics provide evidence of demand and the need for sustained investment if it is to serve the tens of thousands of adoptees across the state.
Circle of Care and Beyond are positioned as a long-standing agency expanding into post-adoption support, but leaders acknowledge that expanding staff and resources will be critical to meet statewide needs.
