About Our Chapter
Our Families
We are currently recruiting volunteers to be Host Families, Family Coaches, Family Friends, and Resource Friends. We take a team approach to volunteering so that no volunteer feels alone or overwhelmed. The vetting process includes an application, three references, and three background checks (FBI and KS State fingerprinting, child abuse clearance).
Our Churches
Local churches play a significant role in recruiting volunteers from their church family. They are integral to supporting those families as they serve and reach out to families in need. Churches of all sizes and various denominational or non-denominational backgrounds are active partners with Safe Families for Children.
If you are interested in your church becoming partners with the Safe Families movement, please contact us (kansas@safefamilies.net)
Our Team
Our amazing volunteers are the ones who take the Safe Families for Children movement into the community. But they can’t do it alone. They are supported by a staff of professionals passionately investing their lives in engaging churches, building the base of volunteers, transitioning children, family coach supervision, vetting and training volunteers, and so much more.
Tammy Thomas
Kansas State Director
Tammy Thomas serves as Kansas – Regional Director. She has served Kansas within the Department for Children and Families as Regional Director and Statewide Long Term Care Liaison. Tammy professional career in Nuclear Medicine Technology has been spent at The University of Kansas Medical Center, Texas Heart Group, and Presbyterian Hospital of Plano. She and her husband of 33 years have been blessed with three, now adult children. Tammy and her family believe Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. All things are possible and nothing is too large or too small for our Lord.
Nora P. Frontaura
Centralized Administrative Assistant
Nora P. Frontaura is the Centralized Administrative Assistant in Kansas. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico and has traveled throughout the United States and Central America as the wife of an Air Force officer. After raising four children and helping with four grandchildren, she decided to branch out and continue to expand her horizons. She is committed to supporting and helping families stay together.
Erin Wimpey
Centralized Intake Supervisor and Family Services Director
Erin is the Centralized Intake Supervisor and KC Metro Family Coach Supervisor. Erin has worked in child welfare since she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1995. She has a passion for people and helping others grow into who God created them to be. She and her husband, Joe, recently celebrated 25 years of marriage. They value time with their family and faith community. They have a gift and passion for hospitality and have hosted numerous people and small groups in their home over the past twenty years. Erin is dedicated to helping Safe Families serve children and families through their key values of Radical Hospitality, Disruptive Generosity, and Intentional Compassion.
Russ Hightower
Kansas City Metro Area Director
Russ works as the Centralized Family Coach and a Church and Community Engagement partner. Russ received his degree in Natural Resources Management from Kansas State University. Russ and his wife have been foster and adoptive parents for over 12 years, coupled with all the peaks and valleys along the way. Russ has worked as a Special Needs Para-Educator, a Behavioral Interventionist, a Children’s Ministry Volunteer, and now as a Church and Community Engagement Coordinator with Safe Families for Children. He is passionate about the movement of Safe Families.
Alicia Butler
Wichita Chapter Director
Alicia is the Wichita area director and has lived in south-central Kansas for the past 29 years. She loves being part of the Wichita regional community and in her opinion, there are few things as beautiful as a Kansas sunset or the Flint Hills in the summer. Alicia believes relationships with others are central to human flourishing. She is excited to be part of an organization that intentionally comes alongside others in compassion, generosity, and hospitality, building relationships that help provide families with support and resources.
Jenna Stout
Southeast Kansas Area Director
Jenna Stout is the Southeast Kansas Area Director. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Missouri Southern State University and has a background in family practice nursing and home health care. Jenna grew up as a preacher’s kid and then a youth minister’s wife in southeast Kansas. She and her husband are foster and adoptive parents with a heart for seeing family units intact and thriving in Southeast Kansas.
Melissa Buhlre
NC Kansas Chapter Director
Melissa is the NC Kansas Chapter Director in Kansas. She and her husband (Berkley) of 36 years live in the Salina area. They have three adult children and eight very adored grandchildren. They fill their spare time with their grandchildren’s activities and family. They love to host events and never run out of reasons to celebrate someone! Melissa and Berkley enjoy serving in various capacities at their church, and worship time is their favorite way to spend time together. Melissa has worked in the family services field with vulnerable families and children for about 30 years. She is honored to be part of a ministry that serves as the hands and feet of Jesus in the community and looks forward to seeing what the Lord will do with the NC Region. Exacting change in process and thought is indeed radical, and what a wonderful opportunity to share the love that Jesus calls us to.