Kansas Division of the Child Advocate annual report

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The Kansas Division of the Child Advocate released its annual report. Here are our key takeaways.

Published 2023-02-02

Youth in Kansas foster care deserve safety and stability. In Kansas Appleseed's many years of fighting for reform in our state's foster care system, we have long championed the creation of a Child Advocate’s office to provide independent oversight of the Kansas foster care system.

The Kansas Division of the Child Advocate was established through executive order by Governor Laura Kelly in October 2021. In January of this year, the DCA released its 2022 Annual Report. We wanted to share some of our key takeaways:

Volume and scope of work:

The Division of the Child Advocate is needed to provide a safe entity for Kansans to turn to. In 2022, the office handled 165 complaints involving 321 children. The complaints centered around the following topics: Agency Conduct (65), Family Separation and Reunification (71), Dependent Child Health, Well-Being, and Permanency (58) Child Safety (20), and Other Concerns (37), with the majority of those being concerns around legal representation and the judicial process.

Decrease in foster homes:

Kansas has a long way to go to stabilize the foster care system. According to a DCA-administered Former Foster Parent Survey, there has been a net loss of approximately 500 homes over the last several years. Nearly half of those who left the system reported that they did so due to a lack of support.

Placement instability:

In 2018, Kansas Appleseed and partners filed a class action challenging extreme placement instability and lack of mental health resources for children in the foster care system. Despite the State of Kansas' agreement to decrease placement rates, the DCA's report highlights that placement instability increased in 2022 from the previous year: the average number of moves for a child in foster care is 7.4 per 1,000 days in the foster care system. This level of instability is not acceptable.

System deficiencies:

In detailing some of the cases handled by the Division of the Child Advocate this year, the child welfare system experiences deficiencies in:

  • Workers and supervision
  • Clear communications between the Department for Children and Families and contractors
  • Guidelines and protocols
  • Support for families

When considering the next round of contracts, DCF should ensure there is clarity around expectations on supervision, communication, and support.

The Division of the Child Advocate has the potential to make a powerful, positive impact on our state's foster care system. In addition to its effort to help individual families with their concerns, it can also collect data, monitor, and report on the system.

Kansas Appleseed will continue to push for the DCA to be codified into law so this office's existence is permanent and not at risk of being dissolved every four years. It is also imperative that the DCA is adequately funded through the budget process so it has the resources and staffing it needs to effectively investigate every case brought to its doors.

We all have a role to play when working for a system that meets kids' and families' needs. We're excited to see that the Division has gotten off to a strong start in its first full year of operation.