An annual assessment of Kansas foster care reform indicates the state improved health screening and crisis intervention for vulnerable children, but it fell short in advancement of home placement stability.
The federal government shutdown could delay or halt food assistance to 188,000 people in Kansas during November.
Kansas kids in foster care still face severe placement instability despite some marginal improvements to the state system.
Teachers and school staff are the most frequent reporters of child neglect and abuse in Kansas, but minimal feedback, communication and transparency from the state foster care agency have left more questions than answers.
Families of an estimated 138,776 Kansas school-age children could have received a $120 summer grocery card last year — they just didn’t submit the application.
The acting child advocate for Kansas recommended Wednesday that lawmakers mandate annual unannounced inspection of residential facilities serving children in the state’s welfare system.
A new mandate from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly requires federal cash benefits, like social security and disability, to go directly to foster children after decades of using them to pay for state agency operating costs.
Sherry Lesher stood before lawmakers Thursday holding a photo of her son — who died seven years ago in state custody — pleading for reform.
The court-appointed monitor for Kansas’ settlement of a foster care lawsuit challenged the state’s reliance on “sleep-only” housing because the practice didn’t contribute to satisfactory outcomes for children and distorted statistics.
Kansas’ child care providers view the state’s child care subsidy program as cumbersome and ineffective, according to a new survey, but they also see ways to fix the underused system.
