Legal Resources

Kansas Appleseed does not provide direct legal services and is unable to represent individuals or offer legal advice to the public. However, there may be other organizations in Kansas that can assist you or answer your questions. The list below includes a few of those organizations and links to online self-help resources covering a variety of commonly requested topics. 

Kansas 211: Kansas 211 provides a single point of access to help with a wide range of issues, including food assistance, housing and shelter, transportation, mental health and addiction, and employment and education. 211 can connect callers to services in their community. You can call 211 from any phone or visit them at www.211kansas.org.

Family Law and Foster-Care System Questions: The list below provides helpful resources and information about family law and the foster-care system in Kansas. 

  • Office of the Child Advocate: The mission of the Office of the Child Advocate (“OCA”) is to safeguard that all Kansas children, who have the right to be cherished and the opportunity to thrive, are safe from abuse, neglect, and harm by providing independent oversight and increased accountability of our state’s foster care system, improving delivery and deepening confidence in the child welfare system. The OCA conducts an impartial, independent review of Kansas child welfare policies, procedures, and practices, including an investigation and evaluation of concerns raised by children, families, and other individuals. Learn more at www.childadvocate.ks.gov or contact toll-free at 1-844-KS-CHILD (1-844-572-4453).
  • Kansas Family Advisory Network (“KFAN”): KFAN’s mission is to promote the restoration of children, caregivers, and families through support, education, advocacy, training, and spiritual guidance on their journey to wholeness. KFAN believes every family deserves the chance to be empowered with the knowledge & tools they need to advocate for their family. The Kansas Family Advisory Network believes that birth and kinship families have rights & should have the ability to advocate for and exercise their rights. KFAN provides case management, parenting classes, therapy, advocacy, support groups, and spiritual guidance. Learn more at www.kfan.org
  • FosterAdopt Connect: FosterAdopt Connect believes every kid deserves a childhood free of abuse and neglect within a family that offers love, stability, and safety. FosterAdopt Connect actively monitors the changing needs of children in foster and adoptive care within the community to identify gaps in available services. To fill these gaps, FosterAdopt Connect searches nationally and internationally for best practices to implement, and if none are available, creates innovative solutions to improve outcomes for the children and families. Learn more at www.fosteradopt.org
  • Kansas Legal Services: Kansas Legal Services (“KLS”) is devoted to helping low-income Kansans meet their basic needs through the provision of important legal and mediation services. KLS is legal aid in Kansas, providing equal access to justice for the most vulnerable Kansans. Kansas Legal Services offers information and help with a variety of issues such as: abuse and stalking, disability, discrimination, employment, guardianship, housing, juveniles, and legal questions. Visit KLS’ website at: www.kansaslegalservices.org

Eviction and Tenants Rights Questions: Kansas Legal Services’s website provides excellent information about landlord-tenant law in Kansas as well as forms to assist you in representing yourself in an eviction case. 

Prison Condition, Civil Rights, and Criminal Defense Questions: The below organizations may be able to assist you or provide helpful information about prison conditions, civil rights issues, and criminal defense issues in Kansas.

  • The ACLU of Kansas: www.aclukansas.org/en/get-help
  • Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: https://www.kacdl.org/members.php  
  • Kansas Bar Association:  785-861-8838 or https://ksbar.org/?pg=lrs_public

Expungement Questions: Kansas Legal Services puts on free expungement clinics across the state where you can learn about the expungement process and how to navigate it yourself. Click here to learn more about those clinics. To learn about the expungement process in Kansas and access forms to assist you in filing for expungement on your own, click here to visit Kansas Legal Services’s online expungement resources.

Suspended Driver’s License Questions: Click here for helpful resources and forms provided by Kansas Legal Services, which also hosts free clinics to teach the public how to address driver’s license issues on their own. Click here to learn more about those clinics.

Other Self-Help Resources: Kansas Legal Services provides forms and other self-help resources on its website about many topics, including but not limited to the following: 

  • Family Law/Divorce
  • Child Support/Parenting Time
  • Name Change
  • Paternity Cases
  • Identity Theft
  • Child in Need of Care
  • Criminal Record Expungement 
  • Protection from Abuse/Stalking/Harassment
  • Small Claims Court