About - Collective Action for Children

Connecting members to provide a coordinated community response to promote child safety and well-being.

Collective Action for Children is a coalition of child-serving organizations along with local and elected officials in the Kansas City area dedicated to protecting children and promoting their safety and well-being.

Collectively, we build relationships with local law enforcement, legislators, child-serving organizations, and non-profits to raise awareness and create a pipeline of support that removes the confusion around child advocacy resources.

Crisis doesn’t need confusion to go along with it. That’s why our collective approach to child advocacy leads with simplicity. At The Collective, we act as an advocate for the children of Kansas City. Our resources and information are shared and made better by the collaborative power of our coalition.

How we accomplish our mission:

We convene six meetings per year to discuss current community-wide issues and initiatives.

We organize at least two events each year focused on increasing awareness for child abuse prevention and recognizing the agencies that work tirelessly to meet the needs of the children and families in the Kansas City metropolitan community.

We build connection amongst our partnering agencies to provide a coordinated community response to promote child safety and well-being in the Kansas City area.

We provide opportunities for emerging leaders within child-serving organizations.

We present agency highlights during meeting forums as well as on social media. We recognize and express gratitude to those who make outstanding and tireless efforts to champion child safety and well-being.

Collective Action for Children has been a unifying alliance between local child-serving organizations, legislators, and elected officials in the Kansas City metropolitan area for more than two decades.

The organization was first established in February 2001 as The Kansas City Child Abuse Roundtable Coalition under the umbrella of The Children’s Place.

The group formed in response to a growing number of child abuse cases that would have benefited from coordination amongst the different agencies. A group of children’s advocates and legislators banded together in hopes to create and support a safer community for children.

The focus of the group began heavily with legislation and appended to a central point for convergence of information, education, and support for children’s advocates.

In 2024 Collective Action for Children was awarded a grant from the Jackson County Children’s Services Fund to strengthen this community-wide coalition through a new brand, renewed mission, administrative support and an increased focus on raising awareness.

Our Goals:

Improve prevention/early intervention of child abuse
Provide education to decision makers
Improve child-family interactions and relationships
Promote agency collaboration instead of competition between agencies
Influence public funding: city, county, and state

The Collective has worked to impact a number of community initiatives and legislative issues affecting children and families, including:

Abuse and Neglect
Court Advocacy
Drug Treatment for Parents/Caregivers of Children
Effects of Abuse and Neglect on Brain Development
Family-serving Ballot Initiatives
Fentanyl Child Fatalities
KIDSAFE
Prevention Team (Children’s Division)
Safe Baby Drop-Off
Safe Babies Court
Safe Kids/Safe Streets
Safe Place for Newborns Law
Shaken Baby Syndrome
Title IV Funding
Thirty Days, Many Ways to Keep Kids Safe
Wear Blue Day (city-wide observance)

Collective Action for Children Testimonial from The Children's Place

Take a moment to hear from one of our members, Ann Thomas, CEO of The Children’s Place.