Community Initiatives and Resources

Center for Community Connections

The Center for Community Connections supports patients and families in navigating both internal Children’s Mercy services as well as resources in their own communities. The Center for Community Connections staff serve as an extension of the treatment team to support the unique needs of families in our health system. Our ultimate goal is to reduce barriers to accessing and engaging in pediatric health care, thereby improving health outcomes.

The following services are provided at the Center for Community Connections:

• Social work assessment and assistance with connection to resources including utility assistance, safe housing or homeless services, child care, parenting, transportation and advocacy services.
  
  
• Assistance with accessing programs via completing applications and ensuring applications are being processed, i.e. Kansas City Regional Office, Financial Assistance for DME.
  
  
• KLS Legal Services Clinic at Broadway:
  The legal team helps patients and their families from both Missouri and Kansas with the following priority legal issues.
  
  
  • Medical equipment and services denials.
  • Housing (evictions, foreclosures and poor conditions in rental housing).
  • Powers of attorney and guardianships.
  • Orders of protection for intimate partner violence.
  • Denials of public benefits, including SSI and Medicaid.
  • Advice about other legal matters including family law issues such as custody, paternity, child support and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
    
    Please contact a Children's Mercy social worker to be referred to the legal team.

• WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children):
  Helps pregnant women, new mothers and young children learn about nutrition, eating well and staying healthy.
  
  WIC provides eligible families with:
  • Quality nutrition education and services.
  • Breastfeeding promotion and support.
  • Breast pumps.
  • A monthly food prescription.
    
    To make an appointment call (816) 404-3659. *Walk-ins appointments available when schedule allows.

• Social Work Child and Family Therapy Services:
  • Parent-child interaction therapy.
  • Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
  • Family therapy.
    
    Contact the Family Therapy team at (816) 760-8881 to make an appointment.

• Child safety items (as available).
  
  
• Parents education and support groups.

For additional information, please contact the Center for Community Connections at (816) 960-8430.

Home-Based Family Support Programs

Home-based family support programs including the TIES (Team for Infants Exposed to Substance abuse) and Healthy Families Children’s Mercy programs to partner with families of an infant/expected infant to promote attachment and bonding and build strong parenting skills. Workers meet with families in their homes to provide support and information to help build a strong bond between parents and baby, to address any barriers to health care, to connect families to other community services when needed, and to partner with families to solve problems and reach their goals.

Transition to Adulthood Program

The Transition to Adulthood Program helps prepare young-adult patients to manage their own health care and to successfully transition to the care of adult providers.

Trauma Informed Care

Trauma-informed care is a system-wide approach to understanding, recognizing and responding to trauma. Research demonstrates that the majority of Americans have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Many people have experienced multiple traumatic events. Trauma impacts each person in different ways and it is important for organizations, including hospitals, to understand this and provided safety, support and resources to staff, patients and families.

For additional information, please contact Patty Davis, Program Manager at (913) 696-5746.

Additional resources