Lori Burns-Bucklew is a Kansas City attorney in private practice. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and began practicing in 1984. An accredited Child Welfare Law Specialist, she has represented children and youth, as well as parents, grandparents, and other caregivers for children whose families are subjected to state intervention. She has served as class counsel in several civil rights class action matters on behalf of children in state care. She has trained hundreds of lawyers in the Kansas City metropolitan region regarding child welfare law and children’s issues.
Impact Litigation in Kansas
Pursuing Action for Social Reform
How Impact Litigation Works to Create Change
Also known as cause lawyering or public interest law, our impact litigation combines multiple strategies to protect and promote human rights in Kansas.
We don’t take issues to court as a first line of advocacy. However, when it’s necessary, Kansas Appleseed will intervene in systems of injustice through impact litigation to protect Kansans’ rights and well-being. Our advocates, lawyers, and analysts combine efforts to achieve the change Kansas needs.
Resources
Foster Care Law Suit
On July 8, 2020, Kansas officials and attorneys advocating for the rights of over 7,000 children in Kansas foster care agreed to an ambitious settlement plan.
Wichita Gang List
For Black and LatinX folks in Wichita, equal justice under the law isn’t always possible. These Wichita community members have been surveilled, harassed, and punished specifically, often without notice and without cause.
Litigation Partners
The fight to reform our state’s foster care system isn’t just important to Kansans; it is also important across the country. In our 2018 lawsuit (M.B. v. Howard), we partnered with these individuals and organizations to transform the broken foster care system and end years of victimization and trauma for Kansas children.
The National Center for Youth Law is a non-profit law firm that helps low-income children achieve their potential by transforming the public agencies that serve them. For more information, please visit www.youthlaw.org.
Every day, children are harmed in America’s broken child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and healthcare systems. Through relentless, strategic advocacy and legal action, we hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Children’s Rights, a national non-profit organization, has made a lasting impact for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries to help clients with their legal needs around the world. DLA Piper has a long-standing and deep commitment to giving back to our communities through pro bono legal services, and it is one of the largest providers of pro bono legal services globally. www.dlapiper.com
A Clear Vision of the Future for Kansas
Thriving
All Kansans should have the resources they need to support themselves and raise healthy families.
Inclusive
All Kansans should be able to participate fully in their communities.
Just
All Kansans benefit from a fair and effective system of justice.
Help Us Make an Impact in Kansas
We must ensure our state enables all its eligible citizens to participate in a positive society. Kansans, working together, can build a state full of thriving, inclusive, and just communities.
Contact us about advocacy opportunities. We’ll provide the information, strategies, and motivation to create a supportive system for Democracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Kansas Appleseed doesn’t offer direct services for impact litigation in Kansas. Our non-profit advocacy organization only uses impact litigation when all other avenues of advocacy have been unsuccessful in delivering positive results. We have a litigation team ready to take on these cases, working with our staff to build their case and pursue what’s right for all of Kansas.
Kansas Appleseed’s impact litigation works in Kansas! For example, through our multi-year efforts, we successfully pursued litigation against the State of Kansas (M.B. v. Howard) to reform our state’s broken foster care system. In the settlement agreement, the State agreed to work over four years to:
- End the practice of housing children in unsuitable places, like offices and hotels.
- End the practice of night-to-night and short-term placements.
- Ensure that placements are not overcrowded and do not exceed licensed capacity.
- End housing-related delays in the provision of mental health services.
- Provide crisis intervention services for children throughout the state.
Our efforts also extend to the Kansas Legislature and the Governor’s office. We’ve long advocated for the creation of the Division of the Child Advocate and an independent office to provide oversight and accountability to the foster care system. In October 2021, Governor Laura Kelly created such an office through executive action, with Kansas Appleseed by her side at the signing ceremony.
And yes, there have been times our lawsuit didn’t end with the success we wanted. However, even then, the issue is brought to the forefront, and the research we’ve done—plus the people who stalled the positive changes—become part of bigger, bolder movements to achieve systemic change for a better Kansas.
Impact happens when one entity comes forcibly into contact with another. When a government entity refuses to create or alter legislation for positive change, our litigation team goes to work for all Kansans.
The impact involves more than just courtroom activities. There are many non-litigation activities that become part of the full impact from our efforts.
- News reports and articles inform the public about the cause and the people blocking it.
- Both news and grassroots communications create public awareness—and public action.
- This litigation can benefit specific victims whose case is used as the basis for the litigation, and thereby causing legislators to create systemic changes to avoid further lawsuits.