Housing
Sex, pregnancy and foster care
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen pregnancy costs taxpayers more than $9 billion a year in health care and other costs. Ironically enough, those other costs include foster care. The irony lies with the fact that foster kids themselves are often the ones responsible for teen pregnancies. According to a…
Two Kids And A Job: Former Foster Youth Struggles To Fit In Education
Kierra Kinton began living with her grandmother at the age of 3. When Kinton was about 13, her grandmother decided she couldn’t manage the teen any longer, and Kinton began her path through Missouri institutions. Her grandmother sought help through a handful of behavioral health organizations, including Crittenton Children’s Center and Synergy Services, both of…
West Bottoms Flats Starting Soon, First Major Renovation Project in Historic Warehouse District
By Kevin Collison Construction is expected to begin soon on the $68 million West Bottoms Flats apartment development, the first major renovation project in the downtown warehouse district that fueled Kansas City’s economic growth in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. MCM Company plans to renovate three historic buildings on the north side of…
Moving Out But Struggling to Move On
When it comes to education and work, many foster kids are already at a disadvantage when they enter the system, often coming from families beset by generational poverty. Unfortunately, their circumstances are not much improved once they “age out” of foster care, according to findings in a national survey by the organization Child Trends. The…
Former Mayor Kay Barnes, Downtown Champion, Honored for Legacy
By Kevin Collison Former Mayor Kay Barnes now has the Convention Center Grand Ballroom named after her, but her lasting legacy was on display beyond the windows of the ballroom lobby where the event was held last week. From its vantage point above the South Loop freeway, the Sprint Center, H&R Block office tower and…