These child welfare policies and funding priorities will be pushed by Kansas lawmakers

Improving child welfare in Kansas, particularly in the foster care system, will be top of mind for some legislators as they return to Topeka in January after holding several lengthy meetings between sessions.

While lawmakers are united in wanting to improve outcomes, divisions remain between Republicans and Democrats — and likely the House and Senate. Legislators are also sometimes frustrated by strained relationships with the Kansas Department for Children and Families and its contractors in the privatized system.

Perhaps no child welfare issue has been more of a political football than the child advocate, and it is setting up to again be the subject of political debate.

Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita, said the current office of the child advocate established by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is not truly independent or transparent.

"We've continued to hear that families are afraid of retaliation," she said. "As I appreciate the person who's in the office of the child advocate, I don't really feel like it is truly independent when the governor is appointing the secretary of DCF and the office of the child advocate. It's not truly independent."

The Joint Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight is recommending that legislators again look at how best to set up the office for success.

More:Former leaders of DCF contractor Saint Francis charged with fraud, money laundering

Previously, the House wanted the child advocate to be under the Legislature, while the Senate wanted it under the attorney general. After legislators failed to reach a consensus, Kelly created the office through executive order, putting it under the governor. Regardless of who the child advocate reports to, many lawmakers want the office to be put into statute instead of the executive order.

"I don't think any of us are being critical right now of the work that she's doing," said Rep. Susan Concannon, R-Beloit and the committee chair, of the child advocate. "But I would say that by us putting this in statute gives that position more authority."

Rep. Jarrod Ousley, D-Merriam, defended the current system. As the committee's top Democrat, he said he is seeing progress and worried that continuing the debate may undermine the office.

"Give them a chance, they just got going," said Rep. Susan Ruiz, D-Shawnee.

Will Kansas lawmakers spend more money on child welfare?

Several recommendations require additional funding.

While state coffers are brimming with cash as tax revenues continue to come in better than expected, legislators will face competing interests for state funding and tax cuts. New economic estimates this month project the state will end the fiscal year with a $2.3 billion surplus, in addition to $1 billion in a rainy day fund.

Concannon said the budget requests were not "really huge in the whole scheme of things."

"I think that child welfare is holding increasing priority with legislators," she said. "They see what's happened to the system when it was ignored for several years, so I think that they respect and appreciate the work that we're doing on this joint committee. I think that they would be very open to the appropriations request."

One of those is of particular interest to Concannon: another attempt at putting funding for child abuse review and evaluation, or CARE network, into statute. The idea is also known as expanding Adrian's Law.

"It's currently just a pilot program under a one-year proviso in the budget," she said. "That would have such a big impact long term with training our physicians across the state to identify child abuse."

Legislators also want to take a look at appropriating another $350,000 to expand Safe Families for Children Program into McPherson and the Manhattan and Fort Riley areas. Ousley pushed for a budget enhancement for the Court Appointed Special Advocate system, likely about $400,000.

Ruiz pushed for finding permanent funding for mental health intervention team counselors in schools, which received pushback from Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, citing the widespread workforce challenges.

"The fact of the matter is, when talking about we don't have social workers working in our CMHCs, we don't have social workers for DCF or for even their contractors," Baumgardner said. "Part of that is because the schools have leached. They have taken those social workers and put them in schools."

More:Kansas foster child runaway dies after crashing stolen truck. DCF is investigating.

Kansas lawmakers to revisit ideas like CASA, privatization of foster care

Lawmakers want to take another look at creating a foster care parent bill of rights, and possibly a separate one for foster care youths. Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, said advancing such legislation was a "dying wish" of Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, who died in August. Finney introduced HB 2469 in January, but the bill died in committee.

Expanding the definition of kinship to include foster families may also be on the table again this year, possibly in conjunction with the foster parent bill of rights legislation. The language matters when foster care placement and adoption decisions are made, which have been the subject of recent public outcry over individual cases.

Legislators will also consider legalizing so-called baby boxes, also known as infant refuge cribs.

Kansas already has a law, the Newborn Infant Protection Act, allowing a parent to voluntarily surrender an infant younger than 60 days old to first-responders and health workers. But the baby must be turned over directly to another human.

The idea is to allow a parent to anonymously surrender a child to a safe haven baby box installed on the wall of a police or fire station, health department or hospital.

McPherson Fire Chief T.J. Wyssmann was among the advocates pushing for change, arguing that the current law has produced "catastrophic and devastating results of babies being abandoned." He testified about a McPherson police officer finding an abandoned baby in a trash can.

"Many women in crisis want and need to remain anonymous when surrendering an infant," Wyssmann said.

Senate Vice President Rick Wilborn, R-McPherson, introduced such legislation last session with SB 490, but it died without receiving a hearing.

Legislators also plan to look into other topics, including CASA, guardians ad litem, the privatization of foster care services, contractor performance, clawbacks, contract rebidding, workforce challenges, caseloads, case management supervision and other issues.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Lawmakers make child welfare policy priorities for Kansas Legislature