TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The newly formed Astra Mental Health and Recovery reports on substantial progress following its recent merger.
Kathy Mosher, CEO of Astra Mental Health and Recovery, presented an update to the Shawnee County Board of Commissioners on Monday, March 16, outlining what Astra has in store for 2026 and providing commissioners with the last annual report from Family Service and Guidance Center (FSGC) and Valeo Behavioral Health.
FSGC and Valeo merged to create Astra on January 1, 2026. The annual report reflects the services and statistics provided by Valeo and FSGC before the merger took effect.
As of March, Mosher says they are gradually improving their workforce numbers following a staffing shortage, reporting, “more than 30 interns last year,” and attracting more seasoned professionals without increasing administrative costs.
Mosher also reports an improvement in service wait times. The State of Kansas requires that the average wait to receive mental health services is within 10 days of a person identifying and requesting behavioral health help.
Over the course of 2025, Mosher reports that the average has decreased to an average of four days, leading to a more than 98% satisfaction rate from children, adults, and family members.
“Our hope is that we remove barriers to services and make it as easy as possible for people to get the services that they need and get their needs addressed and to work with the rest of the community to be as efficient as possible,” said Mosher. “We don’t need to duplicate each other; we just need to work together.”
Another plus, Mosher says, Astra has embedded licensed providers in several school districts to offer services to students.
As a result, they have seen student attendance go up 83%, as well as grades improving and less behavioral misconduct.
“We are happy to help students who have not made it through our doors, who the teachers and schools have identified, or families have come to us and identified, but they can’t, because of their work schedules, they can’t get them to services and so this has picked up a lot of kids that were falling through the cracks,” said Mosher.
Mosher also says Astra has seen a 44% increase in its therapy services.
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