Saint Francis Community Services have plans to move from their cramped office space at 113 E. Lincoln to the now-vacant Sears store located on west US 160.
    The building was bought at auction and Saint Francis supervisors say the sale has officially closed.  They will now work with architects and construction crews to remodel the interior and prepare the space for their move.
    No deadline has been announced for their move, but they hope to have completed their transition in early 2009.
    According to supervisors Rachel Williams and Sarah Haldeman, Wellington’s Saint Francis services have moved twice in less than 10 years as they have outgrown office spaces.
    Now, they more than double the amount of space which can be used for offices, training, visitation and conference rooms.
    “This definitely has opened up ideas for what more Saint Francis can do for the children who are in foster care and for the community,” said Williams.  “Our role makes us sometimes seem like we’re the bad guys but we’re trying to rehabilitate the families and children, helping them make the positive changes they need so their children can reintegrate.”
    Saint Francis currently staffs more than 30 employees who use office space and an additional six drivers who take families on visits and to court and other appointments.  Their office, which serves all of Sumner, Kingman and Harper counties, must also be useful for Saint Francis employees from outside their office who work outreach in the area.
    Things are very busy for Saint Francis right now. In June, 12 new youth were referred for services, and so far in July 14 new referrals have been made.
    Of those needing out-of-home foster care, none have been placed in Harper, Kingman or Sumner counties because of the lack of foster care homes.  Instead, they’re finding placements anywhere they can across the state, even if it means they are hundreds of miles away from their hometowns.
    Sumner County has one of the highest out-of-home placement rates per capita across the state of Kansas.
    Saint Francis works in three major areas — with parents for reintegrating kids back into their homes and addressing issues which led to out-of-home placements, family preservation services which come from child in need of care referrals, and teams working to prevent those children from needing to enter foster care, and the foster care homes team.
    “We think about our work being tough, but when you think of these kids and the work foster parents do — it’s amazing,” said Haldeman.  “A good foster parent absolutely changes a child’s life and changes a child’s direction in life.”
    Jen Bonnett, foster care recruiter with Saint Francis, is forming classes in Wellington for area community members who are interested in becomming foster care parents.
    Classes will be held from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday evenings, beginning July 24 and will run for 10 weeks.
    Saint Francis Community Services is located at 113 E. Lincoln in Wellington and can be reached at 326-6373.  Additional information on the classes can also be obtained by calling 1-866-999-1599.