Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services

**MISSION:** KDADS’s mission statement has been updated to better capture what we do: Protect Kansans. Promote Recovery. Support Self-Sufficiency. **VISION**: KDADS envisions a community that empowers Kansans to make informed choices about their lives. **History and Purpose** On July 1, 2012, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) came into being as a result of Governor Sam Brownback’s executive reorganization order that merged the former Department on Aging with the Disability and Behavioral Health Services Division (formerly administered by the Department for Social and Rehabilitation Services) and elements of the Health Occupations Credentialing Division (formerly administered by the Department of Health and the Environment). The agency administers services to older adults; administers behavioral health, addiction and prevention programs; manages the four state hospitals and institutions; administers the state’s home- and community-based services waiver programs under KanCare, the state's Medicaid program; and directs health occupations credentialing. KDADS is the second largest agency in state government, both in terms of budget and total number of employees. The goals of KDADS are to continue to deliver quality Older Americans Act services; to keep older adults and persons with disabilities at home and independent as long as possible; to keep them safe by ensuring that those who provide their care are qualified and tested; to support an integrated and coordinated Medicaid system to help those the agency serves; and to provide Kansans who need behavioral health services with appropriate care so they can live productive and fulfilling lives.