Month: January 2018

Donnelly College celebrates renovations at Marian Hall

Cutting the ribbon for the Marian Hall renovations on Thursday at Donnelly College were college officials, college board members, community leaders and Archbishop Joseph Naumann, left. (Staff photo)

Donnelly College wants to be part of a transformation for students and the community, as well as transformations to its campus, college officials said Thursday as they marked the completion of renovations to Marian Hall.

With an open house, ribbon-cutting and dedication prayer, Donnelly College celebrated the completion of the renovation of Marian Hall on its campus at 18th and Tauromee in Kansas City, Kansas.

“It really helps to see the ‘before’ pictures, to be aware of just how much this transformation of this building is a symbol of the transformation we hope to bring to the hearts and minds of the students we serve,” Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, said. “And we do want to be part of the greater transformation of this community.”

Lisa Stoodhoff, director of the Success First program at Donnelly College, displayed before and after photos of the fourth floor of Marian Hall, formerly a residence hall. (Staff photo)
Marian Hall’s restrooms were updated and remodeled, according to Lisa Stoodhoff. (Staff photo)

Attending the event was Lacherish Thompson, a senior in organizational leadership, who commented on the building plan.

“I’m excited about this building being built,” she said. “I think it’s going to mean great things for Donnelly.”

Donnelly College students looked at an architectural rendering of the new Donnelly College academic building planned in the third phase of the master plan. (Staff photo)

“I think it’s really neat to see how they’re going to remodel and transform the building into something more like a university,” said Mariana Valles, a Donnelly sophomore.

Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, said the campus is changing from an institutional to a collegiate atmosphere. (Staff photo)

Donnelly College, a four-year college, serves more than 1,000 students this semester, and about half of the students come from Wyandotte County, Monsignor Swetland said. In this number are students of all ages, including high school students who are taking college credits.

Donnelly’s nursing program is currently located on the second and third floor of Marian Hall, he said. Years ago, the buildings housed Providence Hospital, and Marian Hall was the residence of nursing students. Later, Marian Hall was a retirement residence.

Monsignor Swetland said the recently completed renovations at Marian Hall changed the building’s usable space from 12,000 square feet to 25,000 square feet of office and classroom space, while extending the life of the building for 25 years.

There are three phases in the Donnelly College master plan, with the events center the first phase, and Marian Hall in the second phase, according to Monsignor Swetland. The cost of the first phase was $2.5 million, and the second phase, $2 million. The third phase is the construction of a new academic and administration building. The cost of the third phase is estimated at $19.5 million, according to information from Donnelly College.

“Because of the generosity of the people of God, this building (Marian Hall) came in on time, on budget, and it’s paid for,” Monsignor Swetland said.

Donnelly can now move forward on its next phase, he said. That will include building the 72,000-square-foot academic center, and moving the parking lot from the front of the Donnelly campus to behind Bishop Ward High School, which is across Barnett Avenue from the college. Currently in back of Bishop Ward High School is an international students’ residence building, a former convent building that will become the space for the parking lot, according to the site plan. The tower building on campus will come down as part of the third phase, he said.

A grassy campus area will be between the third phase new academic building and Marian Hall. The campus will change from an institutional to a collegiate atmosphere, he said.

“Also, I think it will be a jewel for us as we sell Wyandotte County in this area, to new businesses, to new residents, to new groups that are thinking about doing work and being educated here, because we’ll have something new and beautiful to show them, a place that they themselves and their children can come and be educated,” Monsignor Swetland said.

Any time an anchor institution in a community expands, it’s great for the community, said Daniel Silva, president and CEO of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce. (Staff photo)

Donnelly College is one of the anchors of Kansas City, Kansas, said Daniel Silva, president and CEO of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Any time an anchor institution is expanding, it’s great for the community,” Silva said. “Our job now is to connect the future work force to the employers.”

The renovation also is expected to be a step forward for the 18th Street neighborhood area.

Craig Gaffney, chair of the chamber’s board, mentioned the Donnelly renovation project in connection with the renaissance of downtown Kansas City, Kansas, and the redevelopment of the Prescott Plaza at 18th and I-70.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann blessed the newly renovated Marian Hall. He said Donnelly College was a gateway to so many young adults to higher education and all the doors that that opens for them.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann blessed the newly renovated Marian Hall. (Staff photo)
Architectural drawings of the new Donnelly academic building, to be constructed in the third phase of the master plan, were on display at the open house on Thursday. (Staff photo)
Unified Government Commissioners Harold Johnson, left, and Brian McKiernan visited before the dedication ceremony Thursday at Marian Hall on the Donnelly College campus. (Staff photo)
Donnelly College’s tower structure will come down in the third phase of the master plan. A new academic building will be constructed. (Staff photo)
Marian Hall, at 20th and Tauromee, was renovated in the second phase of the Donnelly master plan. (Staff photo)
Marian Hall, which was formerly a retirement residence, has an accessible entrance. (Staff photo)
The Donnelly College campus master plan shows a new academic building near 18th Street, while parking is moving to behind Bishop Ward High School, near 20th Street. There is a grassy area between the new academic building and Marian Hall. The master plan drawing is by MC Realty Group and Burns and McDonnell. To the far right is the existing campus plan. The area at the top, Bishop Ward High School, is not part of the plan.

Polar Plunge slated Saturday at Schlitterbahn

The annual Polar Plunge – a fundraiser for the Special Olympics Kansas – is planned Saturday at Schlitterbahn water park at 94th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.

The event Jan. 27 is the first of 11 plunges throughout the state and will include a 5k fun run, costume contest based on the theme, “Get Your Cool On,” and the plunge.

The event opens at 8 a.m. with the Polar Strut, and the Polar Plunge will be at 9:45 a.m. at Schlitterbahn. For more details and to sign up to participate, visit http://www.plungeks.org/.

The fundraising goal for the Kansas City, Kan., plunge is $100,000. Money raised will go toward providing sports and health and wellness programs for nearly 5,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities in Kansas, according to a spokesman.

“The Polar Plunge is the signature fundraising event for Special Olympics Kansas and our sponsor the Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run. Funds raised from the multi-community event allow Special Olympics Kansas to host various screenings, trainings and competitions in each region in Kansas,” Luke Schulte, vice president of development and liaison for the Kansas Law Enforcement Torch Run, said.

To participate in the plunge, and receive a commemorative t-shirt, individuals may sign up on plungeks.org and either donate or raise a minimum of $75. Plungers are encouraged to go above and beyond the minimum and have the opportunity to receive incentives for reaching higher goals. The minimum for the fun run, and commemorative scarf, is $30.

Businesses and corporations may form teams, and individuals who would like to donate but do not want to jump into the cold water can still register as a “chicken,” raise funds and receive the same incentives the plungers receive.

“Everyone should consider joining the Polar Plunge,” Schulte said. “You don’t have to take the leap if the water is too cold for you. Consider being a chicken; raise the cash, but don’t take the splash. The main thing is to show your support of Special Olympics Kansas and our athletes.”

Schulte said Special Olympics Kansas is looking to build communities of inclusion. If individuals cannot take the plunge he encourages them to consider making a donation at plungeks.org or volunteer at one of the many events held throughout the year.

Special Olympics Kansas is dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports competitions, health and nutrition programs and leadership development. Offering year-round initiatives to children and adults with intellectual disabilities, a spokesman said, Special Olympics Kansas is a platform for acceptance and inclusion as well as one of the largest advocates for healthy lifestyles in the state – regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or cultural differences.

Report: Poor families struggling with Kansas welfare rules

by Madeline Fox, Kansas News Service

Income that doesn’t come close to the poverty line. Persistent job insecurity. Shifting schedules and irregular hours. Cumbersome barriers to state assistance meant for the neediest Kansans.

A new report from the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities paints a stark picture of the Kansas welfare system.

Analysts focused on two major changes to Kansas welfare eligibility rules enacted under Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration — work requirements and time limits.

They used the same data as a the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability did in a 2017 study. Kansas and other states have been using that report to back work requirements and time limits.

That earlier FGA study, “Work Requirements are Working for Kansas Families,” found that Kansans thrived after leaving cash assistance. The study concluded that work requirements, sanctions and time limits implemented under Brownback led to higher incomes, more employment and less dependency on the state.

The CBPP report contends that FGA exaggerated post-welfare earnings and drew flawed conclusions about the power of the new Kansas policies to lift families from poverty.

“The data just don’t in any way support the claim that parents were thriving,” said LaDonna Pavetti, one of the authors for the think tank, which analyzes public assistance policies across the country. “Most families remained extremely poor.”

Brownback’s administration imposed stricter work requirements and shorter time limits to encourage self-reliance in recipients of state assistance. It argued that without those powerful incentives, many families would remain stuck in a trap of dependency and poverty.

The Department for Children and Families, which oversees Kansas’ welfare programs, cited work-training programs that help welfare recipients move from internships to full-time jobs. It said more than 21,000 people receiving state cash assistance have reported new employment since 2011.

“The facts are clear: work requirements in Kansas are helping more people succeed,” Brownback’s office said in a statement.

Kansas welfare rules give a pass on work requirements in some cases. For instance, a grandmother would be exempt if she was taking care of a granddaughter removed from her mother’s custody by the state. More than half of welfare recipients qualify because they’re taking care of family members. DCF also offers hardship extensions that let some families exceed the time limits.

The governor’s office described Wednesday’s report as “more of the same” from “a left-wing organization trying to advance a welfare-for-all narrative while ignoring the data.” Brownback spokesman Bob Murray cited a falling child poverty rate in Kansas. It dropped by almost a fourth in five years.

From October 2011 to March 2015, about 22,500 parents left cash assistance. Of those, roughly three in 10 left for failure to meet work requirements and about one in 10 left due to time limits.

The majority of families who lost assistance for not meeting work requirements had income below the federal poverty level. Nearly seven in 10 had earnings at half that level or less — or no earnings at all.

For a single mother of two, that would mean annual earnings of $10,210 or less. In fact, the median income for people leaving over work sanctions didn’t break $5,000 per year in any of the four years after exiting cash welfare.

For those who lost assistance when they bumped up against time limits, the change was more profound. Four years after reaching the 2012 time limit — then 48 months — the study found 60 percent of people who lost their benefits either had no earnings or made less than $5,105 for a family of three.

That 48-month lifetime limit on benefits has since dropped to 24 months.

Pavetti rejected the idea that work requirements will spur welfare recipients to get jobs.

“What the data actually show is that work is common,” she said. “It was common before people came on to (cash assistance) as well as after.”

People receiving cash assistance worked just as much before they got those benefits as they did after, the report said. For instance, 71 percent of the people who left assistance between 2011 and 2015 worked the year before receiving assistance, and 71 percent worked the year after.

Work, though, can often bring its own uncertainties, said Scott Anglemyer, executive director of the Kansas Association of Community Action Programs. People who qualify for welfare are concentrated in low-wage jobs, which often mean volatile work schedules, no benefits, and a changing schedule over which they have little control.

“It’s very difficult to make ends meet,” Anglemyer said. Although poverty is going down in Kansas, he said, social service agencies have seen caseloads balloon in response to thinning government services.

Anglemyer and other advocates worry about where that might leave kids.

Kansas has seen a spike in the number of children entering foster care in recent years. Preliminary findings from a study out of the University of Kansas show a correlation between welfare restrictions and increasing foster care numbers, although DCF has said its own analysis doesn’t support a connection.

The CBPP’s findings are even more troubling in light of how they affect kids, said Amanda Gress, director of government relations at Kansas Action for Children. After all, she said, virtually all welfare recipients are taking care of children.

“Families who don’t have those essential cash resources might have their utilities shut off, they might face evictions and homelessness, they might skip doctor’s visits or go without essential medication,” Gress said.

Madeline Fox is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @maddycfox. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post. kcur.org

See more at http://kcur.org/post/report-poor-families-struggling-kansas-welfare-rules.