A federal judge has approved a settlement agreement that should improve conditions for foster children across Kansas.
McIntyre v. Howard was filed in November 2018 by Kansas Appleseed, the National Center for Youth Law, Childrens Rights and Lori Burns-Bucklew against DCF, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. Kansas Appleseed Director Jami Reever tells KVOE News the settlement should improve conditions for foster children. She says the current system is broken and hasn’t been serving the best interests of children for years.
Policy changes are broken down into three categories: accountability reporting and implementation, practice improvements and outcomes.
*Provider agreements will include information about improvements and outcomes over the next 30 days. Within six months, the state will develop an independent advisory group for action plans and improvements. A neutral entity will validate the state’s performance data.
*Office use for overnight stays will end. Night-to-night placements will end except for those deemed appropriate by placement standards.
*There will be no delay in authorizing mental health treatment.
*No foster placement will exceed its licensed capacity without approved policy exceptions.
DCF Deputy Secretary Tanya Keys says the agreement has already had some benefit, even though it wasn’t finalized until this week. One example: the number of moves for foster kids.
Reever hailed DCF for agreeing to the settlement and for showing a willingness to improve conditions for foster children.
Reever says monitoring will take place over the next five years, so it’s important DCF reach the benchmarks in the agreement and then at least maintain them.
Keys says there is more work to do so long-term stability is achieved, and she says DCF has started in several ways. She says DCF is working to strengthen and improve access to mental health services, including toll-free, statewide crisis intervention services where foster parents can call if their foster child is going through an emotional crisis and possibly receive a home visit, depending on the circumstances. Keys says supports to relatives will increase and reimbursement rates have recently been increased to reflect ongoing cost adjustments. A focus on more individualized responses to foster care situations and the use of a more collaborative approach towards moves — planned or not — are also developing.
Keys says the changes should move forward without any major changes to DCF’s budget, in part through federal funds.
Click here for the link to the settlement and supporting documents.
