In Our Communities
By KSCA | October 2017
Community Resources in Kansas
- Kansas Resource Guide (KRG) is a collaborative effort to connect consumers with resources and services for women, infants, children, youth and people with disabilities in Kansas. The Kansas Resource phone and email are answered Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m..
- Community Resource Council links with other collaborative groups to address specific needs in the community. This is accomplished through the development of community-wide initiatives that avoid duplication of services, maximize available resources, implement community plans designed to meet a specific outcome, and monitor progress. They offer a database of community agencies that offer statewide or county-specific supports in:
- Kansas Family Partnership, Inc., promotes healthy youth behaviors in diverse Kansas families and communities through education, networking and advocacy.
Community Agency Spotlight - Family Service & Guidance Center
“A working relationship between schools and the local community mental health center can be a real boost for the schools and the school counselors. School counselors today go from one crisis to the next with little time to sit down and spend time with students. Mental health centers can be an invaluable resource and can provide a broad range of services not only for the child but for the entire family.”– Pam Evans, Director of Marketing and Development
FSGC serves nearly 13,000 children from birth to age 18 each year. Most live in Shawnee County, but FSGC cares for children from over 40 Kansas counties.
Here are descriptions of programs and services offered at FSGC:
- Outpatient Therapy – Individual, family and group (ages 3-18): Services focus on children, teens and families dealing with mental health or behavioral issues stemming from a broad range of causes, including relationships, crises or life changes.
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (all ages): State-of-the-art treatment for a full range of mental health issues seen in children from preschool to high school.
- The Anxiety Treatment Program (ages 4-18): This specialty clinic provides proven treatment to children whose lives are disrupted by severe anxiety, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and their families.
- The Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP), including a therapeutic preschool for children with severe emotional and behavioral problems (birth to age 6).
- Families Supporting Recovery, for children dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance use issues (ages 12-18): Instead of seeing different teams for mental health issues and substance use, this innovative service enables young people to see the same treatment team to treat both.
- Community-Based Services (CBS), including case management and attendant care (all ages): CBS provides intensive support for the child and family to help the child remain in their own home and avoid hospitalization. Services can be provided at home, at school and in the community.
- Crisis Services 24/7/365 (all ages): FSGC's crisis services assist families with emergencies related to mental health issues. The crisis team can help with threats to harm one's self or others, extreme behavior and significant parent/child conflict.
- Transition-Age Youth (TAY) Program for young adults with mental illness (ages 15-22): This program provides mentally ill young adults with opportunities to learn skills and gather the information they need to live independently and self-sufficiently in the community.
- Youth Development Program (YDP), a group program that teaches crucial social and behavioral skills (ages 6-17): YDP works in a group format to help children and adolescents learn and practice social skills, anger management, problem solving, emotional expression and other skills needed to be successful at home, at school and in the community. YDP offers groups in several Topeka schools and after school at Family Service & Guidance Center.
- The highly popular Happy Bear abuse prevention outreach and education program (ages 3-6): Happy Bear visits over 6,500 children each year in dozens of schools and child care centers to teach an important message of safety and self-protection.
Have you visited our new website?
Hopefully you’ve managed to stop by our new website www.ksschoolcounselor.org during the last month to see upcoming events at a glance, sign up for leadership and speaking opportunities, or to browse through our ever-growing list of resources. While you’re at it, connect with us on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds! Your likes, follows, and shares help to spread the word about the important work we do in the school setting.68th Annual Counseling Conference - November 9, 2017
The theme for this year’s conference is, “School Counseling 2017: How is a Counselor to do it?” Our keynote speaker, Dr. Carolyn Stone, will discuss “Legal Literacy and Ethical Practice in the Complex World of School Counseling.”Additional breakout sessions include:
- Upcoming Advocacy for School Counselors and Comprehensive Programs
- Social Emotional Character Development Standards Review & Revision
- Competitive Admissions: Helping Students Navigate the Process
- School Counselors and Principals: Partners in Accountability to Close the Gaps
- The School Counselor's Role in Supporting Children in Foster Care
- Developing Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies
- Delivering Suicide Prevention Services
- Human Trafficking of Children and Teens
- Creative Approaches in Counseling
- Creating Civic Engagement