Newsmakers program features FosterAdopt Connect in Joplin

(From KGCS)

Child welfare systems are generally overloaded, and a local agency is working to fill gaps in services with a goal of keeping kids out of foster care and supporting families along the way. That agency is FosterAdopt Connect and its new leadership, fundraisers and mission are the focus of the next Newsmakers program.

Kevin Sidenstricker is the new branch director for FosterAdopt Connect in Joplin. He discusses prevention programs that offer in-home support and parenting education to stabilize families facing hardship. He also shares about the Community Connections YouThrive program that helps current and former foster youth with the struggles of adulthood such as healthcare, employment, transportation and legal advocacy. Linn Hanshaw, Kinship Navigation specialist discusses supports for family members caring for children of relatives or friends. Plus, a video update of a kinship success story.

Newsmakers is airing nightly at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. beginning February 8 on KGCS-TV and will air at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, February 14 on KOAM-TV. It is also posted on the station’s YouTube channel: KGCS – Missouri Southern State University.

KGCS-TV programming can be seen on channel 21 and is also available on regional cable television systems such as Sparklight, Mediacom and Optimum Internet. The station operates as a service of the Department of Communication at Missouri Southern State University.