Funding Priority:  Mental Health Services

All funded projects must expand services for Clay County children, birth to nineteen years of age.

Services cited in enabling legislation include:

• Counseling and Therapy
• Crisis Intervention
• Intervention Programs
• Mental Health Screenings
• Outpatient Chemical Dependency
• Outpatient Psychiatric Treatment
• Prevention Programs
• Psychological Evaluations
• Respite Care
• Temporary Shelter
• Unwed Mothers’ Services
• Unmarried Parents’ Services

Funding Restrictions:

The Fund may not be used to support the following activities:

• Inpatient medical, psychiatric and chemical dependency services
• Transportation services
• Grants to individuals
• Capital expenditures
• Annual appeals
• Endowments

Dates for the 2020 Funding Cycles:

School District Competition:

Community Based Organization Competition:

Sign up for Funding Notices:

The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation sends out notices to registered agencies when a competition opens.  Please click here to register.

Easterseals Midwest

Project Title:  Nurturing Parent Support Group

Amount Funded:  $33,634.00

Project Summary: Nurturing Parenting Group Program is a weekly, 16-session, evidence-based program with over 25 years of research and is recognized as one of the top parenting programs in the country designed for the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect.  Parents and their children meet concurrently in separate groups that run once a week, 2 ½ hours a session, for 16 consecutive weeks. Additionally, families may receive up to seven individual home/parent sessions each 60 to 90 minutes in length.

Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry

Project Title:  Rapid Re-housing Services for Homeless Children & Families

Amount Funded:  $150,000

Project Summary: MLM provides Rapid Re-Housing, prevention, and emergency services to help homeless and at-risk families with children ages birth to 19 secure or maintain safe, affordable housing, and access home and community-based service interventions, while working on current and long-term goals to become financially self-sufficient.

Northland Therapeutic Riding Center 

Project Title: Eliminate Wait List for Clay County Riders

Amount Funded:  $32,525.00

Project Summary: The goal of NTRC in the next two years is to provide valuable emotional and behavioral therapy for the 28 children and teens from Clay County who are on our waiting list.  Equine therapy is a labor and resource intensive project.  To eliminate our wait list, we need to hire more instructors, acquire and care for more horses, employ more barn staff and increasingly improve and maintain our facility.

Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) has proven to be an effective therapy in assisting in emotional awareness, reducing aggression, increasing social skills and encouraging relationship building. EAT helps children and youth gain confidence, aids in problem solving, developing empathy, improve communication skills, and develop impulse control.

Rachel House

Project Title:  Northland Risk Determination and Education

Amount Funded:  $30,000

Project Summary: When clients come to us for assistance, they are looking for help if they are pregnant. Moms are enrolled in a class with 8-10 peers for 20 weeks.  On alternating weeks, they either attend classes or meet individually with their case manager.  Dads can enroll in 8 weeks of education through a program we teach called 24/7 Dad.  Whether Mom and Dad stay together or not, both programs provide them with education topics like, basic infant care, shaken baby syndrome, safe baby sleep, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse, dealing with stress, managing relationships, and many other topics.

Synergy Services, Inc.

Project Title:  Safe and Resilient Children’s Program

Amount Funded:  $345,000.00

Project Summary: Synergy’s Safe and Resilient Children’s Program (SRCP) consists of new and existing services provided to children residing at the agency’s Children’s Center (CC) emergency shelter, and a community navigation approach to guide families through crisis and the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.  The CC provides shelter and trauma-informed care services to children from birth-19 years who have been victimized by family violence, child abuse/neglect or family disruption.  The CC provides short-term placement, up to 30 days.  Requested funds will support 6 current FTE and increase the CC’s capacity by 4 FTE to be hired staff to serve children in shelter.  Funding will also cover direct client care and other shelter costs.  Synergy also requests funding to create a Permanency Advocate position (TBH) to coordinate navigation services for the children and families.

Synergy Services, Inc.

Project Title:  Resilient Youth Program

Amount Funded:  $439,375.00

Project Summary:  Synergy’s Resilient Youth Services (RYS) will shelter 506 (490 Synergy House-16 TLP/MGH) and offer other vital services for an additional 450 unsheltered Clay County youth. The county’s youth face several challenges including barriers to care for reasons out of their control. Some agencies turn youth away due to capacity or inexperience with specials populations (human trafficked, immigrants); due to family conflict as a result of sexual orientation/gender identity; domestic violence or abuse/neglect; and/or mental health challenges outside of the scope of their services.

The Family Conservancy

Project Title:  Childhood Mental Health

Amount Funded:  $308,460

Project Summary: TFC’s Childhood Mental Health project will serve Clay County’s youngest and most vulnerable children through three programming components geared towards providing mental health intervention programming to children birth-to-five years old.  1) Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Programming: Focusing on the promotion of healthy functioning, ECMH staff work individually with children and their caregivers to provide mental health intervention services, address problem behaviors and prevent preschool expulsion. 2) Trauma-Informed Early Educators: This component will provide trauma-informed care training to preschool teachers at NKC Schools. 3) Trauma-Informed Care Orientation Training: TFC will host community Trauma-Informed Care Orientation trainings at North Kansas City Hospital, introducing childcare providers to what trauma is and how it impacts child behavior and caregiving practices.

Tri-County Mental Health Services, Inc.

Project Title:  Community Based and School Services

Amount Funded:  $1,079,608.00

Project Summary: This project meets the Fund’s priorities in at least three ways. First, the project provides “Prevention programs which promote healthy lifestyles among children and youth and strengthen families” through its outreach in the schools and in other community settings. It also provides “Individual, group, or family professional counseling and therapy services” by reaching out to Clay County youths and delivering those specific services to them where and when needed. Additionally, the project provides “Home-based and community-based family intervention programs” in concert with community partners. 

Tri-County Mental Health Services, Inc.

Project Title:  Youth Crisis and Psychiatric Services

Amount Funded:  $784,910.00

Project Summary:  This project provides an opportunity to create a youth focused crisis intervention team to help Clay County youths who need immediate attention to deal with severe mental health situations. The challenge is to help those youths who are confronted with the need for crisis intervention services. Through effective, early intervention, the goal will be to keep youths in their schools and community instead of needing out-of-home services such as in-patient or residential services.

Total Funds Committed to Community Based Organizations –  $3,203,512.00

Excelsior Springs School District #40

Excelsior Springs School District received $300,000 to implement a new project that will include suicide prevention training for secondary school students, counseling, screenings and case management. Outcomes will include a decrease in incidents in bullying and an increase in the number of students receiving mental health services.

Kearney R-1 School District

Kearney School District received $253,575 to implement a new project that will include suicide prevention training for students, mental health services and will increase the number of parenting classes offered to student parents.

Liberty Public Schools

Liberty Public Schools received $900,000 to implement a new project that will increase the number of schools using Conscious Discipline practices by four. Three additional middle schools will be trained in Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS). Partnerships with Tri County Mental Health Services and Synergy Services will increase the number of students receiving mental health services. 

Missouri City School District

Missouri City Schools received $50,000 to introduce a new program that includes teacher and staff training and resources for students to access mental health services remotely.  Outcomes will include a decrease in incidents of bullying, students participating in suicide prevention training and an increase in students receiving mental health services.

North Kansas City Schools

North Kansas City School District received $1.5 million to expand their existing counseling and screening services and staff training and resources. Outcomes will include a decrease in incidents of bullying, students participating in suicide prevention training and an increase in the number of students reaching their treatment goals in counseling.

Smithville R-II School District

Smithville School District received $181,020 to expand their existing student services in the areas of mental health services, chemical dependency out-patient services and Trauma Informed Schools training. Outcomes will also include a reduction in classroom disruptions and school suspensions.

Total Funding Awarded for Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health Services in Area Schools

2018 – $3,184,595

2019 – $165,000

Excelsior Springs Therapist says….

• “Well I don’t think it should be overlooked that probably half of the students that I am working with would not be able to access outside providers without these funds.  We have several students that for the first time are not only getting therapy services but also assistance with accessing needed medications. 
• “I think another story could be how the twins I work with, coming from a very unpredictable and challenging situation have been successfully integrated into a stable family member’s home (one where the adults have never had children before).”
• “I have a high school student who at one point couldn’t look me or anyone else in the eye and now states that he hopes to be a social worker one day.”