About Kansas Kids Belong

Kansas Kids Belong started in 2018 as a pilot of America’s Kids Belong. Our mission is to improve the experiences and outcomes for kids in Kansas’ foster care system.

Our flagship program is:

family recruitment

I Belong Project

Our flagship video storytelling project gives a face and voice to kids in foster care who are legally free to be adopted and helps connect them with prospective adoptive families and forever homes.


Our Kansas Team

Lacy Paredes

Lacy Paredes

State Manager

As a mother of six and active foster parent, Lacy spins many plates and wears even more hats—wife, mother, foster parent, adoptive parent, working mom, Jesus follower. Her passions are faith, family, and foster care, with the goal of inspiring and ignite others to get involved in supporting kids in foster care.

Board of Directors

Lacy Paredes

Lacy Paredes

State Manager

As a mother of six and active foster parent, Lacy spins many plates and wears even more hats—wife, mother, foster parent, adoptive parent, working mom, Jesus follower. Her passions are faith, family, and foster care, with the goal of inspiring and ignite others to get involved in supporting kids in foster care.

Bekah Wedel

Bekah Wedel

Operations Assistant


Bekah is a mom raising four wonderful kids alongside her best friend and husband, Taylor. Her life has been deeply shaped by her experiences as a foster and adoptive parent, and she is passionate about encouraging and equipping others to find their own unique role in serving vulnerable kids. 

Our central shared services team provides the operational and strategic support to enable Kansas Kids Belong to be dedicated to mission achievement.