Kathy Macken gives a presentation

Children’s Services Fund Gets Put to Work in Excelsior Springs

Executive Director for Clay County Children’s Services Fund Kathy Macken speaks at an Excelsior Springs SAFE Community meeting. Photo by Courtney S. Cole

During the May meeting of the Excelsior Springs SAFE (Substance-Abuse Free Environments) committee Kathy Macken, Executive Director of the Clay County Children’s Services Fund, spoke about the progress the fund has made throughout the county. With only ten communities in Missouri having a children’s services fund, the public passed the ballot measure establishing a 1/4 sales tax in August of 2017. The first deposit of tax revenue was in June 2017 and by December of 2018, school districts in the county had been awarded $3.2 million.

Funding is restricted to only services benefiting Clay County residents ages 0-19. Services include: crisis intervention, counseling and related services as part of transitional living programs, individual, group, and family counseling and therapy, intervention programs, mental health screenings, prevention programs, psychologists evaluations, respite care, services for teen parents, outpatient chemical dependency treatment, and outpatient psychiatric treatment.

Organizations that provide youth services and school districts within the county are encouraged to apply and benefit from the fund. With access to children’s health services, strategically the services being on site can reduce barriers for children getting the services they need for better health. For the 2021-22 year, Excelsior Springs, Kearney, Liberty, Missouri City, North Kansas City, and Smithville school districts were awarded a total of $7,353,654 in funding. The largest percentage of funding is being put toward prevention programs, counseling and therapy, and intervention programs.

It’s not just school districts that benefit. Children’s service organizations have also been benefiting from the fund, with $7,352,286 being awarded in the 2021-22 fiscal year. Organizations such as Synergy Services, Inc, Tri-County Mental Health Services, Inc, Kansas City Autism Training Center, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Feed Northland Kids, Ability KC, Saint Luke’s Hospital dba Crittenton Children’s Center, Kansas City Hospice and Pallative Care, Metro Lutheran Ministry, Easter Seals Midwest, Mattie Rhodes Center, Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA), Northland Early Education Center, Northland Therapeutic Riding Center, Hillcrest Transitional Housing, The Family Conservancy, and United Inner City Services have all benefited. With a majority of that funding going toward prevention, each of the organizations receiving support are using the funding to building on the programs they already have in place and are helping Clay County children.

The Children’s Fund measures success by tracking reports that are provided by each community partner and school district. Kathy reported that in Excelsior Springs, there were 155 students benefiting from group therapy, with 73 focused on resiliency, 35 through music therapy, 36 in art therapy, and 11 others receiving other health service therapies. There are 25 students in individual therapy, 9 in family therapy, and 7 who received psychiatric treatment.

The impact that the programs are having on school incidents have been reported to have decreased suspensions by 69%, discipline referrals by 73%, and bullying and harassment decreased 35%. These counts are reflective of the 2019-2021 school years. When it comes to prevention by the numbers, Kathy offered the following information regarding prevention services, including:

Suicide Prevention Programming Served 1,534 Students
• K-5 Grade – 189
• 6-8 Grade – 590
• 9-12 Grade – 755

Alcohol and Drug Prevention Programming Served 1,345 Middle and High School Students
• 6-8 Grade – 590
• 9-12 Grade – 755

Vaping Prevention Programming Served 755 High School Students

For more information and to see the details of the programs that are being funded, please visit the Clay County Children’s Fund website. The Grants page outlines the organizations and project summaries that have received funding.

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