Kansas lawmakers seek to have independent board instead of governor oversee child advocate

Rep. Susan Concannon says she supports having Kerrie Lonard continue to serve as the state's child advocate.

But Concannon, R-Beloit, hopes to see the Kansas Division of the Child Advocate overseen by an independent board instead of the governor, as is now the case.

She told The Capital-Journal Thursday that she expects a legislative conference committee in coming weeks to hammer out an agreement over the potential workings of such an arrangement, which could then be considered by the full House and Senate.

The conference committee is considering legislation Concannon proposed last year in the House as well as separate legislation put forth in the Senate, she said.

"The devil's in the details," Concannon said. "We're not there yet."

What's the current set-up?

After years of legislative haggling by Kansas Republicans over how to best set up a state child advocate's office, Gov. Laura Kelly in October 2021 signed an executive order creating the independent Kansas Division of the Child Advocate.

Lonard has held that office since December 2021, according to the KDCA website.

That site says the division's duties include investigating allegations it receives from the public and safeguarding children at risk of abuse or neglect.

Would the KDCA have been able to save Zoey Felix?

Concannon said the KDCA has the authority to investigate abuse or neglect claims involving "a child alleged to be a child in need of care," meaning it would have had been able to try to help 5-year-old Zoey Felix, whom prosecutors say was murdered and raped last October in southeast Topeka.

But that division didn't know about Zoey, Concannon said.

Zoey often roamed her neighborhood alone and unsupervised as she formerly lived with her parents and others at a house in the block of 2200 S.E. Market, neighbors told The Capital-Journal in October.

Her mother, Holly Felix, last September expelled from her home a four-person group that included Zoey and Ezequiel Felix-Guerrero, who was Zoey's father and had legal custody of her. The group went to live in a campsite in the 2000 block of S.E. 28th.

Zoey was raped and killed Oct. 2, Topeka police said. A fellow resident of the campsite, 25-year-old Mickel Cherry, faces charges that include capital murder and rape. The crimes drew increased attention to child welfare arrangements in Kansas.

If Lonard had known about Zoey's situation, she would have sought to intervene, Concannon said.

"I wish I'd have known about it, because we can report things to her office," she said.

Concannon's involvement with child welfare issues includes serving as chair of the Joint Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight and the House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care.

Concannon said she didn't think changes proposed in the legislation being considered by the conference committee would have made a difference with Zoey, because the child advocate would still need to know about such situations before he or she could intervene.

Legislator wants statute to ensure advocate is independent

Republican leaders in the House and Senate are trying to reach agreement on how to best arrange oversight for the child advocate's division, Concannon said.

She acknowledged Kelly's office has allowed that division to be reasonably independent.

Still, Concannon said, she and other House Republicans want to ensure Kansas law mandates that the child advocate operate independently of the governor's office.

Concannon's proposed legislation in its current form would arrange for the KDCA to be overseen by a committee containing as many as 11 members.

Appointments would be made by the governor, the chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, the president and minority leader of the Senate and the speaker and minority leader of the House.

Some board positions would require professional experience with the state's child welfare system. Others would require personal experience.

Members would include "a current or former foster parent," "an individual who was a child in need of care" and a "biological parent to a child in need of care."

The actual operations of the KDCA "wouldn't change much" under the arrangements being proposed, Concannon said.

She voiced optimism that Republicans would reach agreement on what changes to make.

"I think we're ready to sit down and conference again and go through the bill so we can take our time and find a solution," she said. "We should be able to negotiate something by the end of this session."

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Change sought in oversight of Kansas Division of the Child Advocate