KANSAS, November 21 - TOPEKA – (November 21, 2022) – A Sumner County organization has been awarded a grant from the Tower Foundation to support mental health services, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.

Sumner Mental Health Center in Wellington was awarded $5,000 to assist with the transition to and/or implementation of requirements for the new designation of being a certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC). The CCBHC model is being implemented in Kansas and will provide more resources to participating clinics and improve the care the clinics are able to provide to Kansas citizens.

The Tower Mental Health Foundation of Kansas was created as a result of an agreement between the attorney general’s office and the Menninger Foundation in 2007. It offers support to organizations that provide mental health services in Kansas. The attorney general is the sole member of the Foundation, which is staffed by the Office of the Attorney General. The Foundation’s board of directors is composed of nine Kansans with a keen interest in mental health issues. Dr. Walter Menninger serves as an emeritus member of the board.

Funding for this grant cycle was provided in part by the Sunflower Foundation: Health Care for Kansas, a Topeka-based philanthropic organization with the mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of Kansans. Sunflower and Tower each provided 50 percent of the grant funds.

More information about the Tower Foundation is available at www.ag.ks.gov/tower.