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Families First
Children and teens belong with their own families whenever possible. KVC works to safely reintegrate 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 youth. Relatives, non-related kin like teachers and neighbors, and foster families are all critical to providing temporary care for these children and teens. See how you can make a difference.
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Your Help Matters
There are many large and small ways you can still lend a hand. Regardless of your size of gift, know that each caring touch makes a big difference in the lives of others.
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About KVC Kansas
KVC Kansas is a private, nonprofit organization that serves over 15,000 children and adults each year. Our team of professionals provides family strengthening and preventative services, parent training, 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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How We’re Strengthening Kansas Children & Families
KVC Kansas is a team of social workers, therapists, family support workers, and other child welfare and behavioral health professionals who are passionate about strengthening children and families. Our agency is one of four nonprofits providing foster care case management on behalf of the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF).
We recently shared how KVC Kansas is doing on federal performance measures for state foster care systems here.
2021 Foster Care Case Management Providers
Case management for children in foster care is handled separately from the work of supporting foster families:
- Foster Care Case Management, Reunification and Adoption (Permanency) – Every four years, DCF conducts a competitive process to award foster care case management provider grants/contracts to nonprofit organizations. Currently there are four nonprofit case management providers. KVC Kansas provides foster care case management, reunification and adoption services in 11 counties including Johnson (Olathe/Overland Park area), Douglas (Lawrence), and Shawnee (Topeka) for the next four years. Read the details and see a map here.
- Foster Family Training & Support (Child Placing Agency) – KVC Kansas recruits, trains and supports foster and adoptive families across the entire state of Kansas. We currently support 900 foster families, making KVC the largest child placing agency in the state and making it more likely that children can be matched with a family in their community. This work is not based on state grants or contracts. Learn more here.
Safely Reducing the Number of Kansas Children in Foster Care
Several years ago, we shared an article called “Too Many Children in Foster Care: KVC Kansas Shares Challenges and Solutions.” The article contains an infographic that explains major changes that happened in the 2010s, and how we can work to address several challenges.
KVC Kansas Exceeding Federal Performance Standards
KVC Kansas is exceeding federal performance standards in some of the most important areas like child safety, placement in family settings, and placement with relatives. View all of the statewide performance outcome reports here.
- Child Safety in Foster Care – KVC is exceeding the federal performance standard for preventing maltreatment in foster care. Compared to the national standard of 8.50 victimizations per 100,000 days in foster care (lower is better), our rate is 3.75 in the Kansas City Metro region and 4.77 in the East region.
- Placement in Family-Like Settings – In both regions (Kansas City Metro and East), we are caring for appx. 93% of children in family-like settings instead of group homes. This exceeds the performance standard of 90%. Nationally the average for states is to care for only 86% of children in family-like settings, and some states are as low as 66%. Read more about why and how we right-sized congregate care.
- Placement with Relatives – Also in both regions, we are placing nearly 50% of children with relatives or familiar caregivers which exceeds the federal performance standard. In addition to grandparents, aunts and uncles, we also match a high percentage of youth with non-related kin such as neighbors, teachers, and coaches. The familiarity of these caregivers has a positive influence on children and safely reduces their time in foster care.
- See all data here.
Learn more about our vision for transforming foster care in America:
Additional Articles from KVC:
- KVC Pilot Initiative Aims to Bring Children in Foster Care “Safely Home” In a More Timely Manner
- Degree Related to Social Work? Now You Can Work with Kansas Children in Need
- A Fast, Proven Way to Strengthen the Kansas Child Welfare Workforce
- Too Many Children in Foster Care: KVC Kansas Shares Challenges and Solutions [Infographic]
- Why Child Welfare Privatization Made Kansas a National Leader
- How KVC Kansas Is Supporting and Retaining Its Child Welfare Staff
- Answers to FAQs: Understanding KVC Kansas’ Role in the Kansas Child Welfare System
- Children Need Families | An Open Letter from KVC Kansas President to KVC Team
- How We Can Improve the Child Welfare System as a Community
Collaboration is critical! Birth parents, foster parents, legislators, education leaders and others gather at a KVC Community Forum.
Get Involved – We Need You!
Want to get involved? We need everyone to play a role in strengthening children and families. Get inspired to help and advocate for others by watching these family success stories. You can also provide temporary care for a child in need, become a child’s permanent family through adoption, donate online, or browse open positions on the KVC team.
Learn more about KVC Kansas here or call us at (913) 499-8100. You can also connect with us on Facebook.