Brownback wants funds to help search for dozens of missing foster children

Kansas would have additional funds to pay for emergency foster care to keep children from sleeping in offices and for more investigators looking for missing children under Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget proposal.

The administration also wants to ease the way for the Department for Children and Families to release information about child deaths or near deaths.

Brownback’s budget boosts spending to the DCF by more than $16 million in federal and state funds over the next two years after sharp criticism of the state’s foster care system. Administration officials outlined the proposal Monday, ahead of the budget’s full release on Wednesday.

Lawmakers expressed anger this fall over revelations that some children were sleeping in offices because no foster care was immediately available. They also voiced frustration with the disclosure that more than 70 children were missing from the foster care system. The number remains at about 70.

“DCF is charged with protecting our most vulnerable Kansans, and our goal with our budget was to make sure we have the resources needed to take care of the issues that we see,” Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer said.

The budget proposal includes:

▪ $6.55 million in new funding for community-based family preservation services

▪ $1.5 million to hire 20 additional child welfare staff

▪ $755,000 on reserve beds and emergency placements for children in foster care

▪ $500,000 on fingerprinting and background checks

▪ $225,000 to hire additional investigate staff

The proposal also includes funding to use an outside vendor to assist with a review of the agency and a new tool to improve assessments of reports of abuse and neglect.

“Sixteen and a half million dollars. That’s pretty good news for Kansas kids, I’d say,” said interim DCF secretary Gina Meier-Hummel.

The Legislature must approve the new spending. About half would come from state dollars and about half from federal funds.

Colyer said the state has enough of a budget “cushion” to absorb the cost.

The greater focus on DCF comes after the departure of longtime agency secretary Phyllis Gilmore. Colyer, who is running for governor and named Gilmore’s replacement, has also emphasized the issue in the past few months.

Some of the problems facing DCF have been simmering for years, however. A July 2016 audit of the agency found it was failing to ensure the safety of children in foster care.

And while the number of missing children caught the attention of lawmakers this fall, the number of missing had been climbing over the past two years.

The budget announcement is “too little, too late,” said Mark Hutton, a former Republican representative from Wichita who is running against Colyer in the race for governor. “For years, the Department of Children and Families has been plagued by problems, including only recently disclosing that over 70 foster children are missing, and Lt. Governor Colyer did nothing.”

“Now that he’s running for governor, he’s decided to do something about it. That’s not leadership, nor is it acceptable to the people of Kansas,” Hutton said.

There’s now legislative support for action, Colyer indicated. The administration wants to deal with problems, he said.

“We are where we are today. And we’re dealing with these issues today and we have new opportunity with a new cabinet secretary. DCF has been an issue that the governor been dealing with for a long time, something I’ve also had some dealings with,” Colyer said.

A Democratic lawmaker who sits on the House Children and Seniors Committee said she was pleased by the proposal. Rep. Monica Murnan, of Pittsburg, said everything announced was a “step in the right direction.”

“I like that it’s comprehensive, and I appreciate the efforts that have been put in, especially the additional dollars that have been put in for family preservation. I believe prevention is key,” Murnan said.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, R-Overland Park, said he is a fan of Meier-Hummel. He called the administration’s request for additional resources a “priority item.”

Meier-Hummel said DCF wants to change the law regarding the disclosure of information about children. She said it “specifically addresses our ability to share information when there’s been a near-death or death of a child in custody.”

This fall, DCF declined to release information about the death of a 22-month-old boy who drowned at his foster parents’ home near Fort Scott in August. The agency said the boy’s death was an accident, not neglect, and based on that finding said it wouldn’t disclose records about how it handled the case.

Kansas law says records should be released “in the event that child abuse or neglect results in a child fatality or near fatality.”

Meier-Hummel said the proposed changes, which she didn’t detail, would allow for additional transparency. People will be able to “hear the rest of the story as it pertains to the work we do with Kansas families.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Brownback wants funds to help search for dozens of missing foster children."