KVC Behavioral HealthCare Inc.

We all need connection. That’s why we exist, and it’s why we’ve been serving children and families. For over 50 years, KVC Kansas has provided an array of mental and behavioral health, substance abuse and child welfare services that target problems families face. We help people experiencing mental health distress with caring treatment so they can embrace their worth, build resilience and thrive. We provide 24/7/365 support to children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and partner with caring relatives and foster families so they can heal from unimaginable trauma. We work to find children forever families through adoption. We help people who long for more in life by giving them a path to experience the joy of parenthood and helping children. KVC Kansas positively impacts the lives of about 30,000 children and adults each year by providing behavioral healthcare, in-home family support, family preservation and unification, substance use treatment, and foster care services. KVC Kentucky is committed to strengthening and supporting the well-being and vitality of Kansas children, families and communities through our high-quality, impactful services designed to empower clients by building on their unique strengths.

Improving the health and wellbeing of children occupies the very core our mission to meet mental health, educational, and intensive behavioral and emotional support needs of high-risk youth and families. Children coming into KVC Kansas face multiple adverse childhood experiences including abuse, neglect, homelessness and exposure to violence that deepen the potential for difficult life outcomes.

KVC Kansas has many goals. Our primary goal is to enrich and enhance the quality of life children, adolescents, families and individuals in our communities. The welfare of a child cannot wait; our ultimate goal to keep children and families safely together.

Another goal we embody is to empower youth in crisis who have experienced extreme trauma in their young lives to become more resilient, confident and contributing members of society. This goal defines the legacy of our success and lasting, meaningful change for youth, their families and communities. To help youth and families reach for their goals, KVC Kansas provides evidence-based practices in a trauma-informed environment.

When a child has suffered abuse or neglect, or families are facing mental health challenges KVC is there with the support needed to move through difficult times. KVC is a private, nonprofit child welfare organization that provides a diverse array of services including family preservation, foster care, substance use disorder treatment, and behavioral healthcare services. We are committed to enriching and enhancing the lives of Kansas children and families.

Our vision is to provide leadership in behavioral healthcare, social services, and professional education through the provision of service delivery models with proven quality and fiscal accountability.

KVC Kansas’ strategies to meet goals and objectives while ensuring the quality of our care includes a multi-layered approach to person-centered health and wellness. One of our strategies is the joining together of two fields often treated as separate. This approach unlocks the potential of individuals and communities to experience greater health and wellness.

The first field in our approach is leading the way in integrated healthcare. With KVC’s expertise in behavioral health, we help people experiencing depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, feelings of violence, substance abuse and addiction, behavioral and psychiatric disorders, and the effects of childhood traumatic stress. Our services include in-home therapy and skill-building, education and support, and substance abuse/addiction support. The latest neuroscience tells us that early childhood brain development and the trauma they experienced as children affects an individual’s mental health and physical health into adulthood and throughout their lives. Our solutions work on addressing the whole person first then expand to also include the individual’s environment and community.

The second field is child welfare/social services. We help ensure that children are safe and that families have the support they need to successfully care for their children. Services include in-home support to keep families safely together (family preservation), family reunification, and foster family care. KVC looks beyond physical health to understand root causes related to childhood adversity and relationships. Families have needs all along the continuum of care. Whether their need is for a low level of intervention (e.g., prevention, education), or their need is acute/complex, needing intervention and/or hospitalization, KVC is ready to help. By improving care and innovating where different fields intersect, we make a lasting impact in the lives of children and families.

Keeping families and children together is accomplished by providing comprehensive and compassionate medical and behavioral healthcare, social services and education to our clients. Our services are in-home, trauma-informed, strengths-based, and driven by a focus on the safety, permanency, and wellbeing of the child and family. Our work with the children and families of Kansas is enhanced by continuous quality improvement. We value dignity, respect, honesty and integrity. We deliver our innovative and effective services in a culturally-sensitive manner, respectful of a child and family's strengths and values.

KVC Kansas is uniquely positioned to accomplish our mission for children in our care and their families. We work diligently to meet the needs of children and secure assistance of service providers to ensure service integration. To avoid duplication of service, we work closely with the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division, and other organizations to develop community-based services for the betterment of children and families. We are committed to enriching and enhancing the lives of Missouri children and families.

KVC Kansas has a rich 50-year history of service provision to Kansans in need. Our work with the children and families is enhanced by continuous quality improvement. We exist to serve Kansas children and families in need because we all need connection. The families we serve face serious challenges including mental illness, addiction, economic stress, family discord, child abuse and neglect, divorce, domestic violence, parental incarceration, the loss of loved ones, and ultimately, isolation. Our staff come alongside them with professional expertise and compassion. They help them come up with a personalized plan to achieve their goals and become the parents they have dreamed of becoming. We help stop the cycle of childhood adversity.

What unites us is a set of core values, such as: The heart of our work is helping people. Our character is built on authenticity and compassion. Family connection drives our culture. We value dignity, respect, honesty and integrity. We deliver our innovative and effective services in a culturally-sensitive manner, respectful of a child and family’s strengths and values.

To ensure progress towards our goals, KVC Kansas is reviewed monthly by Board and staff. While our team will continue to seek community support, our priority is to strengthen referral sources and provide the highest quality of services to youth.

Internal Resources: Staff work together improving services in all levels of care. Executive leadership includes Dr. Linda B. Bass, L.C.M.F.T., President, Danielle Bartelli, L.P.C, Vice President of Operations, Angela Hedrick, L.P.C, Vice President of Operations, and seventeen Directors that guide services across the state of Kansas.

Dr. Bass’s priorities for KVC Kansas are (1) expanding our prevention work in order to reach more families and provide critical support before children are at risk for separation, and (2) increasing support for our dedicated caregivers and staff.

KVC Kansas is accredited by The Joint Commission, which is considered the gold standard in healthcare. Our dedicated staff provide services across Kansas to help strengthen and improve the lives of individuals and families each day.

KVC Kansas is a subsidiary of KVC Health Systems which directly touches the lives of over 60,000 children each year in five states and Washington, D.C.

Each year, KVC Kansas serves nearly 30,000 children and adults across the state of Kansas. KVC’s child safety rate in both foster care and family strengthening and reunification exceeds the federal standard. Our services are in-home, strengths-based, and driven by a focus on the safety, permanency, and wellbeing of the child and family.

In 2021, KVC Kansas has positively impacted children and families in many ways including:

• 20,865 children served
•1,514 children and adults received family preservation services
•1,376 children safely prevented from entering foster care
•315 children safely reunified with their 207 families after being in foster care
•135 adoptions facilitated
•947 children received aftercare support services following a safe family reunification or adoption
•5,700 children cared for by relative caregivers or foster families
•3,509 children cared for by relative caregivers or foster families
•1,106 children and adults received outpatient behavioral health services.

In 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 pandemic has hit pause for many organizations, however KVC Kansas continued to provide services for all of the children in our programs, and their families. KVC Kansas is the safe and stable environment that children and families in crisis can turn to for help.