Success Stories

Felician University was recently awarded a $637,562 grant from NSF S-STEM the National Science Foundation S-STEM to support 16 academically talented, low-income STEM students (or “Scholars”) who are majoring in Biology, Computer Science, and Cybersecurity. The program will provide scholarships, second-year experiences, multi-year research experiences, faculty mentoring through an Integrative Academic Advising approach, a peer embedded peer tutoring system, a formalized internship and mentorship program, and community building to better prepare, engage, and support Scholars.

Wichita Children’s Home (WCH) recently received a grant for $500,000 from the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, Integrated Services Grant to help WCH build upon WCH’s capacities and existing relationships with multiple sectors to sustain and scale high-quality services for minor victims of human trafficking and support coordinated prevention and detection efforts throughout the state of Kansas.

Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc. was recently awarded a $415,000 grant from the Jackson County COMBAT Treatment Program, Renewal to support the Substance Use Disorder Program. This program focuses on our residential inpatient clients and provides partial hospitalization treatment they receive at our outpatient facilities.

Raytown Quality Schools (RQS) was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from Jackson County Community Children’s Services Fund to support Raytown Connect social workers.  These social workers will provide assessment, intervention, referral, and post-intervention services to students who are identified through universal screenings or referrals by students, staff members, or parents.

YMCA of Greater Kansas City was recently awarded a $181,381 grant from the Kauffman Foundation Quality Enhancement Grant to increase the capacity for curriculum enhancement and institutionalize a coaching culture at the Thomas Roque Early Head Start Center. This project will expand the Y’s capacity to provide Early Head Start teachers with training on key areas of early childhood education, curriculum and fidelity of the curriculum. An early childhood consultant will help the Y’s Early Head start program implement a coaching model that will further equip staff to retain and use their knowledge in the classroom to provide quality instruction with children within a larger support system, also increasing staff satisfaction and retention.

Raytown Quality Schools (RQS) recently received a grant for $250,000 from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, STOP Technology and Threat Assessment Grant (DOJ BJA) to install and implement Anyvision facial recognition software (FRS), which will enable anonymous identification and reporting of potentially dangerous individuals attempting to enter school buildings or attend events, such as games, performances, or large meetings.

YMCA of Greater Kansas City recently received a grant for $120,000 from the Health Forward Foundation, Healthy Communities to support staffing, research and data collection, convening multi-sector partners, the creation of customized technology platforms, and demonstration pilots. The Y will engage multiple stakeholders to discuss transforming traditional corporate wellness programs/models to appeal to an increasingly diverse business sector, with a special focus on workers most likely to be un- or underinsured. The Y will seek understanding about the impact of social determinants in planning and implementation of such offerings and test effective strategies for integrating technology into these new models.