Neighbors slam plan to open a foster care group home near Haysville

Residents of rural Sedgwick County are trying to stop a for-profit boys home from opening in their neighborhood.

The boys would be foster children between the ages of 12 and 18 with and without criminal pasts who have a pattern of “antisocial, oppositional, defiant, aggressive, abusive, impulsive or high risk” behavior, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families criteria for admission.

More >> Neighbors slam plan to open a foster care group home near Haysville

Before he became a registered sex offender, Carlile was a foster parent in Wichita Falls

Jason Wayne Carlile of Wichita Falls was an active foster parent in a window of time between committing indecency with a child and pleading guilty to the crime, according to information obtained by the Times Record News through an open records request to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

More >> Before he became a registered sex offender, Carlile was a foster parent in Wichita Falls

FF12: DCF child welfare investigators face high caseloads

The names resonate in communities in Kansas. Zaiden Javonovich, Evan Brewer, Tony Bunn, Lucas Hernandez and Caleb Blansett are just a few of the children who died under the care of their parents or guardians.

In light of those and many other cases, people in the community have been questioning the Kansas Department for Children and Families wondering how caseworkers handle these cases and if they're overworked. FactFinder 12 has heard from many complaining of high caseloads and burnout within DCF.

More >> FF12: DCF child welfare investigators face high caseloads

Lawmakers react to foster kids sleeping in offices

Lawmaker reaction was swift when they learned Kansas foster kids have once again been sleeping in offices of agencies that place kids in foster care.

"It should be a wake up call to our agency. It should be a wake up call to the state of Kansas that we have to do better for our children," said Representative Michael Capps (R) 85th District. "This is our future we are talking about."

More >> Lawmakers react to foster kids sleeping in offices

Kansas again keeping foster kids in offices

Abused and neglected children are again sleeping overnight in the offices of Kansas foster care contractors because homes cannot be found for them quickly enough.

Since January, when Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly took office, more than 70 children have been kept overnight in the offices of the two nonprofit agencies providing foster care services. Her Republican predecessor’s administration kept children from sleeping in offices during its final months after threatening publicly to fine contractors — a threat Kelly’s administration has dropped.

More >> Kansas again keeping foster kids in offices

‘A bitter pill to swallow’: Kansas lawmakers drop child welfare oversight plan

Despite the problems facing Kansas foster care, lawmakers in the final hours of their annual session dropped a plan to hold the troubled system accountable.

A provision creating a child welfare oversight committee was eliminated from the state budget, a last-minute casualty of the legislative battle over Medicaid expansion. If approved, the panel could have summoned officials to explain problems, drafted legislation and provided frustrated parents with a place to vent.

More >> ‘A bitter pill to swallow’: Kansas lawmakers drop child welfare oversight plan

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signs Families First bill, recalls ‘callous disregard’ of predecessor

Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday praised the work of lawmakers who made child welfare reform a priority this session and produced legislation to unlock federal funds for prevention services.

Kelly announced she had signed the legislation, which will allow the Kansas Department for Children and Families to inject millions of dollars into evidence-based programs that develop parenting skills or treat mental illness or substance abuse.

More >> Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signs Families First bill, recalls ‘callous disregard’ of predecessor

Army Vet Appeals Immigration Adoption Case

A Kansas Army veteran has appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to secure citizenship for his adopted daughter. Meanwhile, immigration attorneys see the possibility for a legislative fix. For the Kansas News Service,  Andrea Tudhope reports.

More >> Army Vet Appeals Immigration Adoption Case

Kansas foster parents with problems can no longer go to DCF ombudsman for help

Foster parenting in Kansas can involve navigating a web of officials, social workers and contractors.

For years, those parents could take problems and concerns to an ombudsman in the Department for Children and Families.

More >> Kansas foster parents with problems can no longer go to DCF ombudsman for help

Bill Would Require Notifications of Missing Foster Children

Child welfare officials would be required to notify the legislature, the governor and the media when a foster child goes missing under proposed legislation.

The Kansas City Star reports that the bill sponsored by Louisburg Republican Sen. Molly Baumgardner also would require that notifications be made when children stay overnight in the offices of foster care contractors while they await placements. She said at a hearing Thursday that lawmakers can't address the issue if they don't know it's happening.

More >> Bill Would Require Notifications of Missing Foster Children

Gov. Laura Kelly to cancel foster care contracts awarded by GOP predecessor

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly revealed the decision Thursday to cancel foster care and family preservation grants awarded during the administration of Gov. Jeff Colyer.

Kelly, who took office in January but had raised concerns about the Colyer administration’s decision to rush ahead in November with the grants, said the Kansas Department for Children and Families would rebid the state’s family preservation program and revise grants awarded to the state’s foster care contractors. The governor said she would address her predecessor’s lack of transparency and flawed process of selecting grant recipients.

More >> Gov. Laura Kelly to cancel foster care contracts awarded by GOP predecessor

New Kansas governor disputes with DCF over research

Kansas Gov.-elect Laura Kelly is up in arms with the state's troubled child welfare agency for spending public funds to undercut research linking welfare restrictions with a rise in the number of abused children in foster care.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families recently released a $24,000 report calling into question University of Kansas research that Kelly has cited, less than two weeks before she takes office, the Kansas City Star reported. The research backed by Kelly found that certain cash assistance restrictions in recent years have fueled abuse and foster care placements.

More >> New Kansas governor disputes with DCF over research

Bill would require DCF contractors to record how they spend state money

The first proposal to fix the state's foster care program is now in the books.  Reforming DCF is one of the top items lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they want to work on this year.

"Some children will show up at a foster family's home, they don't have decent shoes on.  Then the foster family has to go and purchase shoes," said Sen. Oletha Faust Goudeau, (D) Wichita.

More >> Bill would require DCF contractors to record how they spend state money

Kansas child welfare agency trying to undercut research cited by incoming governor

In the final days before Kansas Gov.-elect Laura Kelly takes office, the state’s child welfare agency is attempting to undercut research she’s cited in opposing welfare restrictions championed by former Gov. Sam Brownback.


Kelly’s team criticized the agency’s leadership, appointed by outgoing Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer, for commissioning a report with public funds that raises doubts about research linking welfare restrictions with child maltreatment. Republican lawmakers may use the report as the basis for a possible fight over welfare policies.

More >> Kansas child welfare agency trying to undercut research cited by incoming governor

‘I just want my dad back.’ Kansas families with deported parent have one holiday wish

For the first time, Kevin and 9-year-old brother Antony, both American citizens, are spending the holidays without Dad.

It’s not what they imagined in April, when — shortly after their father’s arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — Mendez-Ramirez’s children gathered with volunteers to write letters pleading for his release from the Morgan County Jail under ICE custody.

More >> ‘I just want my dad back.’ Kansas families with deported parent have one holiday wish

Advocates: Black Kids Are More Likely To Land In Foster Care, Just One Thing That Needs Fixing

African-American children are much more likely to land in the Kansas foster care system than white children.

A report from Strengthen Families Rebuild Hope, a coalition of organizations and people who have experience with the foster care system, concluded that Kansas falls in line with national trends. But the disparity in Kansas, with black children 75 percent more likely than white children to be pulled from their homes, has gotten worse in the past two years.

More >> Advocates: Black Kids Are More Likely To Land In Foster Care, Just One Thing That Needs Fixing

Kansas Sued Over Foster Care That’s Bounced Several Children Between 100 Homes

A lawsuit filed Friday contends Kansas violates foster children’s civil rights by moving them too often, adding to their trauma and restricting their access to necessary mental health treatment.

The National Center for Youth Law, Children’s Rights and Kansas Appleseed filed the suit against Gov. Jeff Colyer and the heads of the Department for Children and Families, the Department for Aging and Disability Services and the Department of Health and Environment.

More >> Kansas Sued Over Foster Care That’s Bounced Several Children Between 100 Homes

DCF Secretary Says New Foster Care Agreements Increase Oversight and Costs

The top child welfare official in Kansas says bringing in additional contractors under a new series of grants will cost more but will help put the troubled foster care system on solid footing.

Department for Children and Families Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel says the cost will rise $35 million per year. Kansas will have more contractors and she says that will make it easier to serve the more than 7,000 kids in foster care.

More >> DCF Secretary Says New Foster Care Agreements Increase Oversight and Costs

• Kansas agency defends new process for child welfare services

Child welfare task force recommends major changes to DCF

A special task force to find ways to improve the state’s child welfare system, including the Department of Children and Families (DCF), made nearly two dozen recommendations to lawmakers Tuesday.

“There are children’s lives at stake…We have over 7500 children in the system right now. They’re depending on us,” said Sen. Vicki Schmidt, (R) Topeka, chair of the Child Welfare Task Force. “We didn’t just throw out a whole bunch of recommendations and say, take your pick. We actually prioritized them.”

More >> Child welfare task force recommends major changes to DCF

• Gov.-elect Kelly frustrated with state policy undermining welfare of children

Lawsuit claims DCF protected state of Kansas official instead of girl

A civil lawsuit filed in Shawnee County District Court in a long-running dispute alleges the Kansas Department for Children and Families protected a state official instead of his young daughter.

The legal action claims the plaintiff’s civil rights to due process and equal protection were violated.

More >> Lawsuit claims DCF protected state of Kansas official instead of girl