Youthville manages cases for more than 500 Sedgwick County children who have been orphaned and are awaiting adoption. The parental rights of these children have been severed through the court system or relinquished by the birth parents. These children rely on their relatives, foster families, or families they have never met who open their hearts and homes to create a "forever family".
Youthville prepares families to become adoptive parents through our foster care program and the adoption unit. Youthville's adoption unit supports the case management teams by providing adoption services to these children. Their role includes administrative services, support for adoptive families, identifying foster-to-adopt homes, and training staff in the adoption process.
In addition to adopt-only homes, Youthville also offers families the option of becoming foster-to-adopt homes. The process for becoming a foster-to-adopt home involves attending an initial informational meeting, completing the 10-week Partnering for Safety and Permanence- Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (or PS-MAPP) training, and completing any additional training after becoming licensed. Adopt-only homes must also complete PS-MAPP training as well as an adoption application. Background checks and an adoptive home study will be completed after PS-MAPP training. Youthville will then begin a search to match a child with a compatible family.
Families desiring to become foster-to-adopt parents should call 800.593.1950, ext. 194. Families not wishing to foster prior to adopting should contact the adoption unit at 316.529.9321.
Aftercare
The Aftercare program focuses on rebuilding families and creating new families. This critical support is provided for Youthville children with new families or for family stability when a child has returned home. The Aftercare program is made up of master's level, clinical specialists who work directly with families to provide clinical expertise and services. They provide in-home, direct care services to meet the needs of the families.