KDADS

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has scheduled a listening tour of the state for public discussions of the Kansas System of Care, a project for addressing the needs children and youth in the state with a serious emotional disturbance (SED) and their families.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded KDADS a four-year, $9.5 million grant to create the System of Care (SOC) under SAMHSA’s System of Care Expansion and Sustainability Cooperative Agreements program.

“We are going to be working with community partners to improve the lives of children with SED and their families,” KDADS Secretary Tim Keck said. “This listening tour will allow us to collect the best ideas from around the state about improving behavioral health outcomes for this vulnerable population.”

KDADS is collaborating with four Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) in Kansas and with the Center for Behavioral Health Initiatives (CBHI) at Wichita State University’s Community Engagement Institute to strengthen the services provided to children with SED.

“Our goal is to create an outcomes-based system that is family centered and culturally appropriate to meet these children’s needs,” Secretary Keck said.

The listening tour sessions are scheduled for:

Individuals who wish to provide feedback but are unable to attend one of these events are invited to participate in the following survey: https://wichitastate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e3RRxBFo8FmyxAp.