Our Programs
Additional Programs
Sunflower Bridge Child Exchange and Visitation Center
In 2000, Sunflower CASA Project opened Sunflower Bridge -- the Riley County Child Exchange and Visitation Center. This project was a collaboration between CASA and the Domestic Violence Task Force and was funded by the Office of the Kansas Attorney General. Sunflower Bridge exists to ensure the safety of children during supervised visits with their parents or during exchanges for unsupervised visitation.
Services Available:
* Supervised Visits - Providing a safe and neutral environment in which non-residential parents and children can visit in a supervised setting. Supervised visits are one hour in duration.
* Monitored Exchanges - Providing a safe and neutral environment in which children can be exchanged between parents for unsupervised visits without parents coming into contact.
* Secondary Referrals - Providing referrals for participants to appropriate community agencies and resources.
* Recorded Observations- Providing written documentation detailing the relevant activities observed before, during, and following a service. Observation notes are submitted to the referral source, including the court, when appropriate.
Service Hours:
By Appointment Only
Who Can Participate in Services?:
Services are available to any residents of Kansas, but preference is given to residents of Riley, Clay, and Pottawatomie Counties. Individual and in-person intakes with both parents must occur before services will be provided.
What Do Services Cost?:
Fees for services are based on a sliding fee scale. All services are provided by appointment only (no walk-ins), and no services will be provided before fees are paid in full.
To schedule an intake appointment or for more information please email Bria Taddiken.
Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center
In 2007, Sunflower CASA Project agreed to facilitate the formation of a Child Advocacy Center in Riley County. Child Advocacy Centers, or CACs, coordinate a collaborative partnership of professionals who are dedicated to providing child-sensitive interviews and compassionate services to children and their family. Professionals representing child protective services, legal, law enforcement, mental health, medical and other disciplines provide a coordinated team response when a child reports abuse or when there is reason to believe a child has been abused or neglected.
Nationally, there are over 400 CACs accredited by the National Children's Alliance and there are many more CACs in development. Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center opened its doors on July 1, 2008.
What Do Services at the CAC Include?
The CAC functions under a team approach. This team approach strives to reduce further trauma to the child and helps the child and family to heal from the emotional wounds associated with abuse. The multidisciplinary approach focuses on prevention, detection, investigation, treatment and prosecution and includes:
*Child-centered investigative interviews
*Multidisciplinary investigations and case management
*Information and referral
*Education and outreach
*Professional in-service training
*Child advocacy
Stepping Stones' Partners
*Riley County Police Department
*Manhattan SRS
*Riley County Attorney's Office
*SANE/SART (sexual assault nurse examiner/sexual assault response team) from Mercy Regional Health Center
*Pawnee Mental Health Services
*The Crisis Center, Inc.