*The following press release was published on December 8, 2015

Hundreds of foster families in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. will come together this weekend for nonprofit KVC Health Systems’ Resource Family Conference (RFC). The gathering takes place December 11-12 in four cities – Overland Park, Kansas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Lexington, Kentucky; and Daniels, West Virginia. The event is a unique training opportunity for kinship, foster and adoptive families who are caring for children who are temporarily in foster care due to abuse, neglect, parental drug use or other family challenges. Portions of the event are simulcast among all four locations for a total audience of more than 2,000 people.

Each RFC features an inspirational keynote speaker, typically someone who was in foster care as a child and has achieved success in adulthood. This year, families will hear from veteran newsman Dominic Carter, a journalist with Verizon Fios/RNN News who has been described as the best political reporter working in New York television today. Carter’s book, “No Momma’s Boy,” chronicles his triumphant struggle to overcome years of childhood abuse from his mother and her mental illness as a chronic paranoid schizophrenic while growing up in the housing projects in South Bronx, New York. Past keynote speakers include country music artist Jimmy Wayne and author Mark Anthony Garrett.

Last year, KVC supported 6,561 children in foster families and matched 485 children with adoptive families. The organization is recognized nationally for integrating trauma-informed care and behavioral healthcare into child welfare.

KVC raises private funds to fully-underwrite the hotel, meal and training costs of each annual conference. Generous companies, foundations and individuals in the community make the RFC possible by sponsoring and attending fundraising events hosted by KVC Health Systems and its subsidiaries throughout the year.

“Resource” families, which include relative, nonrelated kin and foster parents, will learn about topics such as handling behavior challenges, repairing the effects of stress and trauma, and transition planning into adulthood, while children enjoy fun activities like games, bouncy houses and talent shows. Each child and parent is a guest of KVC’s for the weekend, giving children in foster care a positive, life-changing experience.

“The Resource Family Conference is something that many of the children and teens in foster care look forward to all year long,” said B. Wayne Sims, CEO of KVC Health Systems for the past 35 years and creator of the event. “We’re proud to be able to provide this benefit to our foster families, and it simply wouldn’t be possible without the generous businesses, families and individuals who partner with KVC to make it happen.”

Learn more at www.kvc.org/rfc.

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About KVC Health Systems, Inc.

KVC Health Systems, headquartered in the greater Kansas City area, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that enriches and enhances the lives of nearly 60,000 children and families each year by providing medical and behavioral healthcare, social services, and education. KVC’s diverse continuum of services includes foster care, adoption, in-home family therapy, behavioral healthcare, youth substance abuse treatment and psychiatric hospitals. In its 45-year history, KVC has grown since from a single Kansas home for boys to a national organization serving tens of thousands of children in five states. Due to KVC’s leadership in the use of research-based practices to improve outcomes, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has endorsed KVC as a national best practice organization. Learn more at www.kvc.org.