Nearly 300 inquires from Kansas residents wanting to know more about becoming foster parents have been received during a two week time span when special television and radio advertising and public service announcements have aired.

The 60-second advertisements and 60- and 15-second public service announcements (PSAs) were played on both television and radio between January 31 and February 13. Together with a new documentary, ‘No Place to Call Home’, about foster care in Kansas, the media blitz is part of a foster parent recruiting campaign led by Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Janet Schalansky.

The recruitment campaign is aimed at finding foster homes for thousands of Kansas children who because of abuse or neglect have been placed by the courts in the custody of the state.

The fact that the advertising part of the campaign drew such interest from Kansans was hopeful to Secretary Schalansky. She said many of the 4,200 children in foster care in our state need a home. The agency is working to recruit 600 new foster homes this year.

"We know a family is the best place for children to grow," Schalansky said. "We hope the video, ads, and PSAs help people realize that it doesn’t take a super hero to be a super foster parent.

"There is a special, loving quality found in a wide range of people who become successful foster parents, but there the similarity stops," she said. "Each foster parent has a unique personality, background, and lifestyle."

The documentary and the advertising campaign were produced by the Children’s Alliance under contract with SRS. The Children’s Alliance is a not-for-profit association of 24 private child welfare agencies across Kansas.

Many television and radio stations have donated air time or provided the spots at reduced rates. Stations were urged to cooperate with the recruitment campaign by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, which over the last several years has been a major supporter of the adoption and foster care programs in Kansas. In total, 422 network television spots, 1,048 cable television spots, and 2,686 radio spots for the campaign were run.

The 28-minute documentary in its entirety is also being shown on television stations across the state, and additional showings are still being scheduled. In Wichita, KAKE, an ABC station, aired the documentary on February 12 on its cable channel, channel 51. And KTAJ in St. Joseph, Mo., began running the documentary on February 14 and 15 and will continue running it through March 18. Although located in Missouri, KTAJ’s signal reaches the northeast quadrant of Kansas.

The documentary examines the hopes and fears of real foster children and foster parents in Kansas. Over the course of the show, viewers are introduced to several families. Some are new to foster parenting. Others are veterans with experience fostering hundreds of children.

Bruce Linhos, executive director of the Children’s Alliance, said watching ‘No Place to Call Home’ has an impact.

"You realize exactly what one foster parent on the video says – ‘All the children have ever wanted was love, attention, and someone to care about them," Linhos said. "Viewers also meet foster children in the video and see that these are ordinary kids placed in extraordinary circumstances."

Other stations that have agreed to run ‘No Place to Call Home’ and the time slot it is scheduled for include the following:

*KSNT (NBC), Topeka, April 8 – 1 p.m.

*KTWU (PBS), Topeka, April 16 – 4:30 p.m. and simultaneously on channel 30 in Iola, Fort Scott, and Chanute.

Several other Kansas television stations have agree to run the documentary, but have not yet announced a time slot.

To obtain more information on foster care, call Kansas Families for Kids toll free at 1-877-345-6787, or visit the SRS foster care web site at www.ink.org/public/fostercare To obtain a copy of the documentary, call the Children’s Alliance at (785) 235-5437.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001