Foster Grandparent Program Northeast Kansas

Our History

It was in 1965, during President Johnson’s War on Poverty, that the Foster Grandparent Program was created. It is the first federally approved program to offer a retirement to instead of a retirement from community involvement. It is also the first formal intergenerational program. Foster Grandparent Grants are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency, and funded via the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 which was reauthorized in 2009 by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Topeka Foster Grandparent Program, sponsored by the Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI), was founded in 1966. During the first year, 30 Foster Grandparents were matched with children living on the KNI campus. Today, the Foster Grandparent of Northeast Kansas Program consists of federally funded Foster Grandparents, half of the positions remain working with special friends at KNI while the other half are assigned to a variety of volunteer stations in 12 counties surrounding Topeka.