Month: June 2021

BPU board to meet Wednesday

The Board of Public Utilities will meet Wednesday evening, June 16, in an internet and telephone meeting.

A work session will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, followed by the regular meeting at 6 p.m.

On the agenda for the work session will be a board update, general manager update, and a report on utility financial benchmarking.

On the agenda for the 6 p.m. meeting will be a time for public comments, general manager report, staff reports, a COVID-19 update, KERA program update, a report on local vendors doing business with the BPU, a resolution on waiving water fees east of I-635, a resolution on infill housing, miscellaneous comments and board comments.

The BPU buildings currently are closed to the public because of safety and health precautions.

The public may access the meetings through the telephone or through the internet on a Zoom meeting.

To join the Zoom meeting, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84523139724.

To join by telephone, call toll-free 1-888-475-4499.

The meeting ID is 845 2313 9724.
To access the board meeting information packet, click the link:
https://www.bpu.com/Portals/0/pdf/board-information-packet-6-16-21.pdf

Those who want to participate in the meeting, may use the “raise hand” feature at the bottom of the Zoom page. If connected by phone only, they may press the *9 button.

Help for college, rent and more now available for former foster kids into their mid-20s

Some of the new opportunities for support expire in September. Others extend a year beyond that. People can contact DCF to inquire about their eligibility.

by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service

Stormy Lukasavage wanted to go to college. So he did his homework on what steps he needed to make it happen, from scholarships to tuition waivers.

“It’s always an extra step when you’re in foster care,” the 25-year-old recalled. “There’s so much more paperwork that you have to go through.”

Lukasavage spent part of his childhood in foster care, an experience that continued to shape his life as he entered college.

“My barriers came from the fact that I don’t have a strong family background,” he said. “One of my biggest things was always on the holidays. Just having to be there by myself in an empty building — that kind of totally sucked.”

Lacking a family network is just one way that instability and trauma during childhood can carry into adulthood and complicate the transition.

Thousands of young adults in Kansas who experienced foster care and similar disruptions to home life as children can apply for help paying rent, buying food and covering college tuition and child care through a new pandemic relief program.

One key change to law makes people eligible until they turn 27 for supports that previously ran out at age 21.

Lukasavage thinks that could help more of his peers get their footing and pursue their goals.

“People in foster care weren’t given all the same chances,” he said. “They need that little help up to become prominent members of society. And if we can encourage that growth in a nurturing way, that benefits all of us down the road.”

Congress passed the law late last year to help young adults who have experienced trauma weather the financial storm brought by COVID-19.

Those who were removed from their homes at age 14 or later and placed in custody of state foster care, juvenile corrections or tribal authorities can apply for support through the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

Eligible young adults can get cash assistance (the application for that goes live on July 1), as well as help affording housing, child care and other daily needs.

The maximum needs-based award for college tuition or other training rose from $6,250 a year to $12,000.

Some of these changes expire at the end of September. Others continue a year beyond that. The Department for Children and Families can help young adults know their options.

Even without a pandemic — which cost many young adults their jobs — life can be tough for people who’ve experienced childhood trauma.

The National Foster Youth Institute says children placed in state care switch schools and fall behind academically more often than their peers. Half don’t finish high school and only 3 percent earn bachelor’s degrees, it says.

Research commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found adults in their mid-20s who aged out of foster care at age 18 earn significantly less than their peers without that background.

Lukasavage now does advocacy work for improving the foster system and long-term outcomes.

In 2019, he earned his bachelor’s in criminal justice from Washburn University. Now he’s taking the entrance exam for law school.

Editor’s note: This story was reported in memory of KCUR reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman, a dedicated journalist who began the research for it shortly before her death.


Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.

Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-06-11/help-for-college-rent-and-more-now-available-for-former-foster-kids-into-their-mid-20s.

Temperatures could reach 93 today

Temperatures today could reach a high of 93. (National Weather Service graphic)
Temperatures could rise to 99 on Thursday. (National Weather Service graphic)
The heat index might be 102 on Thursday and 99 on Friday. (National Weather Service graphic)

Temperatures in Wyandotte County could reach a high of 93 today, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

Low humidity will keep the heat index near the air temperature today, the weather service said.

For Wednesday and Thursday, hot and dry conditions will continue, with increasing humidity, according to the weather service.

The heat index will range from 97 to 104 on Thursday afternoon over eastern Kasnas and western Missouri, the weather service said.

Thunderstorms will return to the forecast Friday afternoon, evening and through the weekend, according to the weather service.

Today, it will be sunny with a high near 93 and a calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 68 and a light east wind, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be sunny with a high near 93. A calm wind will become south southeast around 6 mph in the morning, the weather service said.

Wednesday night, the low will be around 72 with a south southeast wind around 6 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be sunny and hot, with a high near 98, the weather service said. A south southwest wind of 6 to 10 mph will gust as high as 18 mph.

Thursday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 77, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97, the weather service said.

Friday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 68, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 90, the weather service said.

Saturday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., with a low of 68, according to the weather service.

Sunday, there is a 40 percent chance of showers, with a high near 89, the weather service said.

Sunday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 67, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 84, the weather service said.