The state’s beleaguered foster care system was the focus of some good news this week.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly says the number of children entering foster care was down 28 percent from its peak year in fiscal 2019, July to June, and was under 3,000 for the first time since fiscal 2006. Kelly says the data highlights the work done by the Kansas Department for Children and Families, including the development of the Family First Prevention Services Act connecting families to what the state says are evidence-based community programs designed to stop the need for foster placements.
Other programs touted by Governor Kelly:
*Team decision making
*Expanded mental health services
*Nearly $2 million in state grant funding to create 10 family resource centers as part of an overall push to have easier access to a range of services like job skills, nutrition and early childhood programs
Fiscal 2006 saw almost 3,500 Kansas children enter foster care. The number went above 4,000 in fiscal 2017, peaking at 4,212 the following year. The number of new foster care entries went under 4,000 in 2020 and has been declining since then.
