photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Kansas Statehouse in Topeka is pictured on Dec. 20, 2023.

A pair of agencies serving Douglas County will receive about $1.2 million combined in grants from the Kansas Department for Children and Families as part of an investment targeted toward “Therapeutic Family Foster Homes.”

According to a Tuesday morning news release from DCF, DCCCA and Foster Adopt Connect are among the seven agencies that will receive $4,765,355 in grants to significantly increase the number of homes available and provide needed training and supportive services.

Per the release, Therapeutic Family Foster Homes receive increased training and supportive services to provide a temporary home for youths with significant emotional, behavioral or mental health needs. The grants announced Tuesday are effective from March 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, with the possibility of three one-year renewals.

DCCCA’s initial grant amount, which applies to the period between March 1 and June 30, 2024, is $143,905, and the agency’s full grant award is $1,017,306. DCCCA will use that funding to recruit, train and sponsor Therapeutic Family Foster Homes to serve youths both in DCF custody and through “therapeutic stability placements,” which are designed for youths who aren’t in DCF custody but may be receiving other supports.

Foster Adopt Connect, meanwhile, is a Missouri agency that will use its total award of $189,507 to support a rapid expansion of its Behavioral Intervention program into nine Kansas counties including Douglas County. The program is an in-home support that engages both parents and children with daily behavior management to decrease the need for short-term hospitalization and assist with crisis deescalation, redirection and the teaching of positive replacement behaviors.

About $1.2 million in grant funds will go toward statewide training to Kansas agencies who wish to use the Therapeutic Family Foster Home model.

“Together, the selected agencies will grow the network of Therapeutic Family Foster Homes while providing meaningful services and supports,” DCF Secretary Laura Howard said in the release. “The approaches by the agencies span a number of thoughtful innovations with an ability to have resources customized to meet a child’s or family’s individualized needs.”