Linda Bass Named President of Child Welfare Agency KVC Kansas
KVC Health Systems President and CEO Jason Hooper has named Dr. Linda Bass, L.C.M.F.T, to be KVC Kansas’ new president, effective immediately. KVC Kansas is a nonprofit organization made up of 750 professionals who provide child welfare and behavioral healthcare services to 30,000 children and adults each year. Current President Chad Anderson, who has served in dual roles, will now be fully dedicated to his responsibilities as Chief Clinical Officer of KVC Health Systems.
Bass, pronounced “boss,” has been with KVC Kansas for 12 years. As Vice President of Clinical Services and Well-being, Bass leads KVC’s foster care prevention programs (family preservation), intensive in-home services (aftercare support following each child’s safe family reunification or adoption), and outpatient behavioral healthcare. As President, she will also oversee foster care case management, KVC’s network of foster and adoptive parents, and all other services.
“Linda is extremely competent, operates with strong values and morals, and always places children and families first,” said Jason Hooper. “She is exactly what we want our leaders to be in that she is a consummate professional and always working to raise the bar for service quality. She is driven by achieving outcomes for children, and as President, Linda will leverage her wealth of clinical and programmatic expertise to create brighter futures for the children and families we serve.”
Bass is a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist with expertise in the treatment of trauma, sibling abuse, and child behavior problems. She has worked in child welfare for nearly 20 years. Prior to KVC, Bass worked in child placing, kinship care and residential care. At KVC, Bass led several research-backed initiatives including the implementation of the Kansas Intensive Permanency Project (KIPP); the Kansas Adoption Permanency Project (KAPP); and the creation and growth of an Engaging Parents/Developing Leaders group for parents involved in the child welfare system. She is also a thought leader on the groundbreaking Family First Act which increases funding for foster care prevention by keeping children with their families whenever safely possible.
Bass earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree from San Diego State University and doctoral degree from Loma Linda University. She has published in the areas of sibling abuse, clinical process and practitioners’ perceptions of implementing evidence-based practices.
Bass’s vision for KVC Kansas includes an expanded focus on prevention services, safely reducing the number of children in foster care, and increased support for caregivers and staff.
Learn more about KVC Kansas here and follow the KVC Kansas Facebook page.