The state’s beleagured foster care system is making progress in some areas, but not across the board.
That was a key takeaway from a report issued recently by the Center for the Study of Social Policy.
The study says the state is making progress in placement stability, with a 6 percent increase from 2021 to 2022. It shows nearly 98 percent of family foster homes and nearly all non-relative kin or licensed kin homes followed licensing capacity standards. It also shows improvements in mental health and trauma screens, as well as improvements in foster children receiving timely mental health services.
However, the study also indicates a 54 percent increase in the number of foster children sleeping in agency or state contractor offices from 2021 to 2022. The vast majority of the children needed that emergency arrangement for one night, although there were nine who slept in offices for more than five days.
There are also concerns about improving data, providing better access to mental health services and the number of changes in placements for foster children.
The study comes when the Kansas Department for Children and Families is evaluating potential partners as state contractors, both for foster care services and data collection. It also follows a lawsuit filed in 2018 during prior governor Jeff Colyer’s administration, including Kansas Appleseed, Children’s Rights and the National Center for Youth Law. A settlement reached in 2020 was designed to make sure the state would make tangible improvements and increased compliance over several years. The report is part of that settlement. Click here to access the full report.
