On May 28, RA Lacina, Region 7 Regional Program Manager for Child Welfare, Kendall Darling, and Region 7 Program Specialist, Darlene Taylor, joined Secretary Laura Howard; Deputy Secretary, Tanya Keys; Director of Prevention, Pam Hahn; and Director of Economic and Employment Services, Carla Whiteside-Hicks for their annual visit and toured two of the state’s promising centers: O’Connell Children’s Shelter and Community Children’s Center.
O’Connell Children’s Shelter (OCS) provides services for youth, including residential foster care and emergency shelter services, and prevention services aimed at supporting families to stay tougher and become healthier. OCS also provides intensive in-home treatment and case management. The O’Connell Children’s Shelter (OCS) Generations program will work to end generational poverty’s impact on families using the 2Gen approach. OCS works with families to consider the needs of both vulnerable children and parents, together, in the design and delivery of services and programs to support improved economic, educational, health, safety, and other outcomes. The OCS program is funded through a grant from the Kansas Department of Children and Families Division of Economic and Employment Services.
Community Children’s Center (CCC) provides direct services such as parenting education and support, child development activities, childcare; and indirect services such as health care, developmental screenings, and basic needs support. They provide collaborative programming, services, and serve residents from a variety of backgrounds: 17 percent spoke a language other than English. On site, established community partners are co-located with the CCC, including the community hospital, a mental health center, a Federally Qualified Health Center, and a food bank. The group toured the Early Childhood Clothing Closet, which contains a range of items from maternity clothes, kids clothing sizes 0-6, diapers, and infant supplies, all provided for free. In the first quarter of 2024, the community closet has already provided 4,000 items for 170 children and their families.