Kansas Fails on Foster Care Commitments, Leaving Vulnerable Children at Risk
(Kansas City, KS)—Today, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) released its third annual report reviewing the State of Kansas and its contractors’ 2023 compliance with their commitments regarding services for youth in the foster system. The report points to a disturbing reality: Children in the foster system are being let down at every turn and left to fend for themselves in a broken system.
CSSP is the independent organization tasked with reviewing and assessing the State’s performance in meeting its obligations as outlined in the M.B. v. Howard Settlement Agreement. This new report finds that the State and its contractors have largely failed to make the agreed-upon improvements to Kansas’ foster system. In fact, the State’s performance has substantially declined in several areas since last year’s report.
“The failures highlighted in this report should be a wakeup call for every Kansan who cares about kids. The State, DCF, and its contractors have broken their promises and are not protecting the health and well-being of the children in their care,” said Teresa Woody, Litigation Director of Kansas Appleseed. “These failures have caused devastating trauma and harm to Kansas’s most vulnerable children. DCF and its contractors must be held accountable, and Kansas must step up to find the resources and reforms necessary to keep its children not only safe but thriving.”
The report stems from the Settlement Agreement reached after a class-action lawsuit was filed in November 2018 against officials in the Departments for Children and Families (DCF), Health and Environment (KDHE), and Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) on behalf of children in the foster system experiencing extreme placement instability and inadequate access to mental health resources. The agreement requires structural changes to significantly improve placement stability and support for Kansan children in the foster system, including ending both one-night placements and the practice of housing children in offices and other inappropriate settings.
“We filed this lawsuit and negotiated a settlement in good faith to stop harmful practices, but the State and contractors have not fulfilled their obligations,” said Lori Burns-Bucklew, Attorney and Child Welfare Law Specialist. “The State demanded control, but they have consistently failed to exert oversight. The State needs to consider whether or not self-reform can be effective in Kansas.”
Among the plaintiffs’ legal team are Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Kansas City attorney and Child Welfare Law Specialist Lori Burns-Bucklew, the National Center for Youth Law, and Children’s Rights.
CSSP’s report is clear that Kansas is backsliding on its Settlement Agreement commitments. The State, according to the report, has failed to meet “the majority of targets required by the Settlement Agreement,” and “too many children/youth in DCF custody continue to experience unstable placements and fail to receive timely access to mental and behavioral health services” (p. 18). Among the key findings for 2023:
- Kansas did not end the practice of housing youth overnight in offices by December 31, 2021. Despite the State’s commitment to end this practice by December 31, 2021, 57 children experienced 68 instances of sleeping in offices and other settings that are not licensed child welfare placements (p. 66). While this was an improvement from 2022, preliminary data for 2024 suggests that these numbers are now substantially increasing (p. 11-12).
- Kansas did not meet several requirements to improve placement stability for youth. Children entering the State’s custody in 2023 averaged 7.94 placement moves per 1,000 days, almost 60% higher than the benchmark goal of 5 or fewer moves (p. 111). Despite the State’s commitment to end night-to-night placements by December 31, 2021, 822 youth experienced 2,057 one-night placements, an increase of 36% from the previous year (p. 96). The State’s plan to address this alarming placement instability remains unclear.
- The data shows a failure to provide required mental health services and a substantial decline in performance from previous years. Of the children and youth whose cases were reviewed, 75 percent showed evidence of a mental health need, and only 52 percent of those in need received appropriate mental health services. Of the youth who received appropriate services, 58 percent experienced a delay in accessing those services (p. 79-80). The State’s plan to remedy the pervasive delays and failures to provide mental health services remains unclear.
- Kansas lacks a uniform statewide data collection system and relies on a hodgepodge of antiquated data sources. The limited ability to integrate data among Kansas’s multiple systems burdens DCF and affects CSSP’s ability to assess performance (p. 34). Until data collection improves, the State’s information cannot be adequately verified.
- On average, 3,016 children across Kansas were assigned to a permanency caseworker handling 30 or more cases, which accounted for 39% of all assigned children (p. 58). St. Francis perpetuates the crisis within our foster care system with the most egregious violations of caseload limits. On average, St. Francis assigned 48% of children in their care to a caseworker carrying 30 or more cases (p. 58).
“Our clients’ lawsuit demonstrated that children in the Kansas foster system were being subjected to such extreme housing instability they were rendered effectively homeless within the custody of the state,” said Leecia Welch, Deputy Legal Director, Children’s Rights. “Sadly, almost six years later, that grim picture looks much the same.”
“The findings in this report are clear. Young people across Kansas are still ensnared in a system that fails to provide them with safe and stable placements and is not equipped to meet their mental health needs, either in times of crisis or as they navigate their daily lives,” said Freya Pitts, Senior Attorney, National Center for Youth Law. “The State must take action to reverse course.”
To read the full report, click here.
More details about McIntyre v. Howard can be found here.
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About Kansas Appleseed: is a statewide organization that believes Kansans, working together, can build a state full of thriving, inclusive, and just communities. We conduct policy research and analysis and work with communities and partners to understand the root causes of problems and advocate for comprehensive solutions. For more information, please visit www.kansasappleseed.org.
About Lori Burns-Bucklew: 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 practice 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.
The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transform our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves. For more information, visit www.youthlaw.org.
About Children’s Rights: Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, immigration, juvenile legal, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org.
