At KVC, we want every child and adult to be safe & connected to a strong family and a healthy community. We’re proud to be a leader in innovative, effective and compassionate care.
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We also provide consultation and training through the KVC Institute. Learn more about our software and technology.
KVC Institute
Are you passionate about improving child and family wellness in the U.S. and abroad? Are you a leader or other professional in child welfare, behavioral healthcare, primary healthcare, or juvenile justice?
If so, you will benefit from videos, articles, training and consultation from the KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation.
Our mission is to transform the experience of childhood for all children through the advancement of health and wellness.
The KVC Institute opened in May 2015 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City area (read about the opening). The KVC Institute’s state-of-the-art, technology-supported training and consultation rooms, Interactive Family & Adoption Center, and expanded Ball Conference Center are expediting the development and implementation of evidence-based practices.
In addition to this hub, the KVC Institute exists without walls and beyond borders. Each of our nearly 1,600 employees across the country is a vital part of the living, breathing KVC Institute and helps achieve our vision of dramatically improving the lives of children and families.
Learn more about the KVC Institute:
- Latest Videos
- Consulting and Training
- Research Projects
- Change in Mind: Applying Neurosciences to Revitalize Communities
- KVC’s Safe & Connected™ Model
- NYU/KVC Midwest Trauma Training Center
- MyLink™ Telehealth and Distance Learning Program
- Integrating Trauma-Informed Care into Child Welfare & Related Systems
- Expertise for Right-Sizing Congregate Care
- Parenting Skills Article Series
- KVC Institute Showcases Virtual Reality to Treat Trauma, Depression and Anxiety
Made Possible by These Generous Donors
Major donors to the Building Families Campaign which created the KVC Institute include the Ball Family, Mabee Foundation, Hall Family Foundation, Sunderland Foundation, Kelly Family Foundation, Regnier Family Foundation, Dunn Family Foundation, Garmin International, Goppert Foundation, Sosland Foundation and the H&R Block Foundation.
Many businesses, families and individuals contributed, including hundreds of KVC’s own employees in Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska and West Virginia. Thank you, all, for investing in the lives of children and families! View the full list of donors here.
The KVC Sims Family Center
The KVC Sims Family Center, attached to KVC Health Systems’ headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, is the hub of the KVC Institute. It is also the headquarters of KVC Kansas, our subsidiary that serves thousands of Kansas children and families with family preservation services, foster family support, adoption, in-home therapy, and outpatient behavioral healthcare.
The facility is named after B. Wayne Sims in recognition of his 35th anniversary as President and CEO of KVC. Sims’ visionary thinking, entrepreneurial spirit and strong values helped KVC grow from a small organization serving five children to an international organization touching the lives of over 60,000 children and families each year.
Key Features of the KVC Institute’s Hub
Simulation room example
Wellness/Simulation Rooms
These rooms, set up with comfortable couches and chairs, are used for interactive therapies with children and families and hands-on training for professionals. They use state-of the-art technology such as small cameras, microphones and recording equipment in simulations and training with parents and behavioral healthcare/child welfare professionals.
Interactive Family & Adoption Center
To KVC’s knowledge, this is the first and only center of its kind devoted to matching thousands more children in foster care with adoptive families using video recording equipment, teleconferencing and social media. See videos of children that KVC is currently working on matching with adoptive forever families.
Learning Communities
The KVC Institute hosts networks of professionals across KVC communities, as well as external researchers, to create and/or adapt the most effective treatment approaches. One aspect of the learning community is the NYU/KVC Midwest Trauma Training Center. KVC has already trained thousands of practitioners and foster families in Trauma Systems Therapy (TST) and its adaptations in order to better support children who have experienced trauma.
Expanded Ball Conference Center
From which to disperse proven practices and evidence-based modalities to local professionals and others around the nation and world through conferences and distance learning. Learn more about the Ball Conference Center private event facility, which is a part of KVC’s corporate headquarters.