TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to announce what his office is calling a “new mental health initiative” during an early afternoon press conference Thursday at Wyandot Center, the community mental health center in Kansas City.

Accompanying the governor will be Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services Secretary Shawn Sullivan.

Several sources familiar with the initiative told KHI News Service that it was in response to the recent shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

The governor’s plan is expected to emphasize services for people who are mentally ill and thought to be a danger to themselves or others.