KCSL, county work on terms
Kansas Children's Service League Wants to Open Local Office
Thursday, September 27, 2007
An agreement between the Kansas Children’s Service League and Lyon County is all that’s keeping the agency from returning to Emporia.
At their Wednesday study session, Lyon County commissioners heard a request by the organization to be a tenant at the Lyon County Annex, 402 Commercial St. Janet Schalansky, president and CEO of the agency, said the organization started in Topeka in 1893 as the Kansas Children’s Home Society.
The organization also had another parent agency, The Christian Service League, founded in 1906 in Wichita. The two organizations merged in 1926, providing services to children and families and directing an advocacy program.
The agency now serves about 40,000 children and families annually in Kansas with services ranging from adoption (including infant adoption) to child abuse prevention as well as parenting education and a parent hotline.
Schalansky said it is time for the agency to return to the Emporia area community by opening up an office in Emporia. Their desire is to occupy a few offices at the Annex.
“We do not want to come into Lyon County and compete with anyone,” Schalansky said. “We want to add value.”
Schalansky said if there was any competition that would come out of the move, it would be in the area of foster families.
The Emporia office would eventually employ about six people, Schalansky said.
Two people would be hired right away and would include a master’s level social work and a bachelor level social worker.
The Annex houses some social services agencies including the Mental Health Center of Northeast Kansas and the Lyon County Department on Aging.
“Just being there with other social service agencies would be a plus,” Schalansky said.
The agency is prepared to open up an Emporia office right away if a successful users agreement is drawn up between the agency and Lyon County.
An executive session was held today to discuss the details of a potential agreement.
In other action today, commissioners approved:
- a resolution for flu shots for Lyon County employees. The county will contribute $10 per employee toward flu shots.
- a resolution that will allow stop signs to be posted at the intersections of Road 190 and Z and at Road 180 and Z.
- the low bid for carpeting at the former Deer Trail building in the amount of $17,406.