KVC Kansas works to protect foster youth mental health | Exclusive

When children enter the foster care system, their lives are uprooted and changed, which can lead to a mental health crisis or suicide.

To combat any possible mental health crisis a foster care child may face, KVC Kansas does mental health screenings within 20 days of entering foster care and again at least every six months.

“We want to make sure that we are providing the youth with all with all mental health needs that are specific to them,” said Erica Herzog, KVC outpatient services director. “And if we don’t ask those questions, then there’s something that we can miss.”

What is KVC Kansas?

KVC Kansas is a private nonprofit that helps more than 13,000 children and adults annually.

The organization offers a wide array of services for foster families and foster children. Some of those services include case management, family reunification and outpatient therapy.

The importance of mental health screenings for foster kids

Over the past year, KVC employees conducted initial assessments for about 244 youths in Topeka and rural areas around Topeka. In the entire Kansas network, staff did initial assessments for 577 youths.

“A population that we don’t often think about as needing services is the foster youth population,” Herzog said. “But they are at a higher risk of experiencing suicidal ideation.”

Where does KVC’s mental health funding come from?

The cost and resources to conduct mental health assessments on every child in their system every six months or more frequently is high. But Herzog said KVC gets multiple grants to help address the need.

Some of those grants KVC received are as follows:

• The Department of Aging and Disability provided the Kansas Community Suicide Prevention Grant to KVC in the amount of $35,000 between July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, and again between a July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
• KVC and CAMBER Mental Health, which offers services for youths in several Kansas communities; get $50,000 to receive training within the organizations. The funding is for between July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.

Community members can contribute by donating to KVC through its website.

What kind of mental health assessments does KVC offer?

Herzog said staff conducting the assessments use a multitude of tests based on the needs of child.

Some of the assessments are as follows:

• Columbia Suicide Risk Assessment, for ages 6 and older.
• Child Report of Post-Traumatic Symptoms and Child Stress Disorder Checklist, which is for ages 6 to 18.
• Ages and Stages Questionnaire-Social Emotional, which is for infants and ages up to 5 years.
• Preschool and early childhood functional Assessment Scale, which is for ages 3-5.
• Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale, which is for ages 6-18.
• Uncope, which is for ages 13-18.

“We definitely want to make sure that, you know, we are assessing youth, so that we can provide those wrap around services that they are needing to increase those protective factors,” Herzog said.

Bridging the way from mental health assessments to services

Herzog said simply doing an assessment would not be enough.

“We have that outpatient department so that we can provide therapy services (and) clinical services to our youth,” Herzog said.

Herzog commended the work her mental health coordinator does and said the additional care is important.

“For me, working with youth in foster care is about so much more than connecting them to services,” Teighlor Henning, KVC mental health coordinator, said in a written statement. “It’s about making sure they have someone in their corner and that their feelings and needs are heard. Having access to the right therapeutic support can make such a meaningful difference in their lives.

“I’m dedicated with helping remove barriers and connecting youth with the right resources that can help them heal, feel supported, and move forward.”

Stacey Saldanha-Olson is an enterprise reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @ssaldanhao.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KVC Kansas works to protect foster youth mental health | Exclusive

Reporting by Stacey Saldanha-Olson, Topeka Capital-Journal / Topeka Capital-Journal

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This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 4:03 AM.