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Core Services
Families First
Children and teens belong with their own families whenever possible. KVC works to safely reunify hundreds of families each year by providing parenting skills training, therapy and other support.
Caring People Needed
On any given day, KVC Kansas provides out-of-home care for thousands of children and teens. Relatives, non-related kin like teachers and neighbors, and foster parents are all critical to providing temporary care for these children and teens. See how you can make a difference as a foster parent.
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Children and Families Need You
Through KVC, you can strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and help create a bright future where every person is safe and connected to a strong family and a healthy community. Please join us today! Learn More
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Overview
Our free resources help you stay informed and educated about foster care, child welfare, adoption, mental health and childhood trauma as well as how KVC Kansas is working toward building healthier communities.
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About KVC Kansas
KVC Kansas is a private, nonprofit organization that serves nearly 13,000 children and adults each year. Our team of professionals provides family strengthening and preventative services, foster care case management, family reunification services, foster family recruitment and support, adoption, aftercare, outpatient therapy and more.
We envision a world in which every person is safe and connected to a strong family and a healthy community.
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Strengthening Families Program: Free Parenting Classes
Build a Stronger, More Connected Family
What is Strengthening Families Program?
Designed specifically for parents and caregivers of at least one 6–11 year-old, KVC Kansas’ FREE Strengthening Families Program (SFP) helps families build strong bonds. With interactive games and engaging teachers, parents, caregivers and youth will gain powerful skills to navigate any challenge. Check out upcoming Strengthening Families Program classes here.
Strengthening Families Program is a widely respected, evidence-based approach that helps families thrive. It’s been effective in preventing foster care and supporting families in safely reuniting after foster care. Across the country, this program has reduced the trauma children experience due to a parent’s substance use and has helped reunify families when traditional services weren’t as effective.
What Will Families Learn?
- Skills to clearly communicate & set boundaries
- Strategies to correct negative behaviors like disrespect, tantrums, and lying
- How to use behavior charts and rewards
- Ways to prevent or address substance use
- And more!
What Will Families Receive?
- 10 weeks of support, community and interactive activities to build stronger family bonds
- A free meal each week during class
- Positive reinforcement & redirection
- A big party with surprise gifts at the end of class!
Who Qualifies for Strengthening Families Program?
KVC’s free SFP parenting classes are available to a wide range of families, including those with no foster care involvement, families who have safely reunified after foster care, and adoptive families. To qualify, families must meet the following requirements:
- Currently caring for a child between the ages of 6-11 NOT currently in foster care
- Live in Kansas
Sign Up or Submit Client Referrals
Check out upcoming Strengthening Families Program classes here.
If you have any additional questions, contact Na’Taya Quinn at nquinn@kvc.org.
Strengthening Families Program Outcomes
Strengthening Families Program participants have had a significantly higher reunification rate than families who didn’t receive this intervention. On average, a child participating in SFP spent 190 days fewer in foster care compared to youth receiving services by other means. SFP has also effectively been used in community settings to help stabilize families who are struggling. It serves as a preservation tool for at-risk families by improving family communication through a family meeting.
Since its beginning in Kansas, SFP has helped numerous families overcome challenges and thrive. For example, when Dan found himself struggling with substance use, he knew he was becoming disconnected from his sons and putting strain on his family. He then sought assistance and enrolled in the Strengthening Families Program. While he was anxious at first, he soon found that it was different from other rehabilitation programs in that it included role-playing and real-life interactions with his kids. The comprehensiveness of the course provided him the knowledge and confidence to become the father he knew he was.
Dan became such a believer in Strengthening Families that he comes back to visit new SFP classes. He provides encouragement to other families who were in a similar situation to himself, reminding them, “You’re sitting now where I once was. There is a pathway forward.”
KVC Kansas is proud to be a Family First Prevention Services Act grant recipient. This funding allows KVC to provide SFP services to reunite families after foster care, keep families safely together and prevent youth from entering foster care.
How to Get Involved with Strengthening Families Program
Families
If you believe your family would benefit from these services, submit the above form. Check out upcoming Strengthening Families Program classes here.
Community Partners & Agencies
If you are a member of a child welfare organization, law enforcement, nonprofit group, faith community or another community agency, KVC wants to partner with you! Strengthening Families has been implemented across Kansas in a variety of community settings.
Contact Na’Taya Quinn at 913-249-5005 or nquinn@kvc.org to help families in your community.
Volunteers & Donors
We also encourage generous community members to help administer this program! We need volunteers and donors to assist us with providing childcare, meals and much more.
Reach out to Na’Taya Quinn at 913-249-5005 or nquinn@kvc.org to get involved.
See How KVC’s Strengthening Families Program Impacts Lives
How the Strengthening Families Program Greatly Reduces the Need for Foster Care in Kansas
Strengthening Families Program - Exhausted Mother and Family Begin to Thrive
Strengthening Families Program - Father Overcomes Substance Use and Reconnects with Family
Strengthening Families Program - Mother Improves Communication with Her Son
Strengthening Families Program - Community Partners Come Together to Help Families in Need
If you have any additional questions, contact Na’Taya Quinn at nquinn@kvc.org.