Developing Potential

Foundation Workshop has been providing employment opportunities to adults with disabilities in Jackson County, Mo., for more than 25 years. Originally organized by the Greater Kansas City Foundation for Retarded Children, Foundation Workshop began with one full-time staff member and 25 employees in a small office in Kansas City, Mo. Since that time, it has developed a well-established business, recognized by the business community for quality and dependability. The company works to provide sheltered employment as a transitional or long-term vocational option for adults with disabilities that are residents of Jackson County. This mission is carried out in a manor that promotes growth, self-esteem and individuality. Foundation Workshop has a location in Grandview, Mo.

The Family Conservancy, located in Kansas City, is an independent nonprofit child and family service organization. It is approved by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Children and Families. It offers various families the resources in areas, including individual and family counseling, early childhood care and education and community-based family support to the families. It has a family support center for Spanish-speaking families that provides counseling to women and their children. It hosts an empowerment group that helps women to advocate themselves against abuse in their lives. Its services also include a drug and alcohol group, a batterer s group, and a children s group. The organization offers a family empowerment program to foster academic achievement and cultural goal setting in children and youth. Its family focus program provides educational and social programs for family, children and community health care.