Associated Youth Services, headquartered in Wyandotte County, will host an open house at its Great Bend office to acquaint current and prospective foster care parents and child welfare professionals with their foster care program for at-risk youth in south-central Kansas.
The event will be from 3 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the AYS Great Bend office: 2015 Forest, Suite 104 in Great Bend. Prospective foster parents and others who wish to learn more are encouraged to attend.
“Because of our experience in central and western Kansas, we have relationships with the network of providers and the community at large,” said AYS chief executive officer Dennis Vanderpool. “Our plan is to grow this service for the benefit of youth and their families.”
According to the Children’s Alliance of Kansas, there are not enough foster homes to care for the as many as 5,000 Kansas youth who are in need of foster care at any given time. Currently, AYS can place up to 110 youth at a time, but is seeking new loving and supportive foster parents to better serve the youth in need of placement.
AYS provides highly personalized attention to foster youth and foster families. In addition to regular home visits and weekly contact, AYS staff is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provides regularly scheduled trainings and a network of other foster parents with whom to share new information.
AYS has nearly 40 years of experience serving thousands of Kansas hardest-to-reach youth annually. AYS Central region includes 31 counties and the cities of Great Bend, Hutchinson, Hoisington, Pawnee Rock, Larned, Partridge, Goddard and
many more.
AYS exists to advance the social, educational and emotional health and success of youth and families. A combination of public/private partnerships and effective collaborations enables AYS to provide a broad range of community-based services to more than 4,500 adolescents each year through: a GED preparation program for at-risk youth, an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment program for teens, foster care and foster care training programs, a youth residential center and a community health program. www.aysusa.org.