DCF
TOPEKA – Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel is excited to announce that the agency recently received two new federal grants that will allow the agency to continue to build strong, healthy families in Kansas.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has awarded Kansas a $250,608 Kansas Kinship Grant through the federal Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. DCF will be utilizing the funding from this grant to develop an intensive Kinship Navigator Program in Kansas. The Kinship Navigator Program will connect kinship caregivers to resources, programs and services and will provide much-needed assistance and support to kinship caregivers.
The Kinship Navigator Program will be included in the Kansas Family Network Support grant, which is currently in the bid submission process. The Kansas Family Support Network will focus on providing direct support to parents and kinship caregivers through prevention and intervention services. By making small shifts within families, they can have an enormous impact on Kansas child welfare outcomes, such as out of home placement rates and lengths of stay in foster care. The Kansas Family Network Support grant will take effect July 1, 2019.
“I am extremely excited about the Kinship Navigator Program because it allows us to fill a gap that existed previously and provide quality, necessary support and services to parents and kinship caregivers in Kansas,” Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel said. “This program is aimed at reducing stress on families and reducing disruptions in the caregiver process. This is great news for the children and families of Kansas.”
DCF’s Economic and Employment Services (EES) division also received a new, substantial three-year grant this week that allows the agency to develop and implement a phone application for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) clients. The SNAP recipients will be able to contact their career navigator directly through the phone app, as well as set and track appointment dates with their career navigator, see upcoming workshops, access community resources, etc.
The Process and Technology Improvement Grant, received from the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (USDA), will work in conjunction with GOALS: A Program of HOPEWorks, to connect SNAP recipients to employment and training opportunities.
“We want to connect with and assist Kansas families as much as possible. By developing this phone app, EES can be more readily available to SNAP recipients,” EES Director Sandra Kimmons said. “This is a great opportunity to improve engagement in SNAP work program services, which will ultimately help more Kansas families achieve self-sufficiency.”
The Process and Technology Improvement Grant, which totaled $1,475,303, takes effect immediately and will run through September 2021. To learn more about SNAP or GOALS: A Program of HOPEWorks, visit www.dcf.ks.gov.