63 black ink2/28/2023 When the DeHavens tried to adopt her, the couple was told they would have to also adopt her three half-siblings. Nicole DeHaven and her husband, John, have raised their foster daughter since she was three days old, alongside their adopted 2-year-old son. 12 Kansas Child Welfare Oversight Committee meeting, asking that their situation be looked into. The committee plans to meet soon to go over the DeHaven family case. Nicole and John DeHaven speak about their experiences with the foster care system ahead a committee meeting in September. “We have organizations with DCF that have truly failed our children and our families in Kansas,’ Baumgardner said. Republicans have criticized the move, saying children in foster care should have independent oversight, instead of being under the administration of the governor.īaumgardner and other lawmakers at the meeting said they are going to push for legislation that would put the Division of the Child Advocate under statute, taking it out from under the governor’s oversight and making it fully autonomous. Kelly, the Democratic governor, created the division with an executive order to meet the demands of an overburdened foster care system after the House and Senate couldn’t agree on a proposed office. Baumgardner also questioned the efficacy of the new Division of the Child Advocate, mentioning the office’s 69 unresolved cases. Īccording to Baumgardner, 487 families have stopped fostering since May 2020, and the department never followed up on why they decided to quit. As of Monday, DCF reported 63 of approximately 6,200 foster care children were unaccounted for. In June, a federal watchdog agency found that Kansas had one of the highest rates of missing foster children from July 1, 2018, to Dec. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)īaumgardner said she heard constant complaints from foster families across the state and said many foster families were refusing to foster because of the way they were treated by DCF and state contractors. Susan Concannon said she just wants more transparency in the foster care system. But to have this oversight, we need to be able to have questions answered and we just keep getting a runaround all the time.” Rep. “For me, the solution was to develop this committee, which we did with my legislation a couple years ago. “Everything’s so secretive in foster care,” Concannon said. Concannon said she was just trying to get more information on the foster care system. Susan Concannon, R-Beloit, said she wanted more transparency but did not want to comment on Cornerstones of Care or its handling of adoption cases. The news conference was held a month before the November election, with concerns about the foster care system an issue in the campaign between gubernatorial candidates Derek Schmidt and Laura Kelly.Ĭ ommittee chairwoman Rep. We will also continue working with Cornerstones of Care to improve their communication with families.” “We will continue supporting the children in our care, including by reviewing policies around how kinship – including sibling relationships – and attachment are considered in care decisions. “Every day we strive to do the best for children in complex situations,” Deines said in an written statement to the Kansas Reflector. “I don’t, but to continue what we’re doing knowing there’s all these problems is being blind to the reality,” Baumgardner said in an interview after the news conference.Ĭornerstones of Care holds the state contract to provide foster care services in the Kansas City area.ĭCF spokesman Mike Deines said the department was working with Cornerstones of Care to improve foster child placement. When asked what she would replace the contractor with, Baumgardner said she didn’t have an alternative in mind. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, also demanded DCF secretary Laura Howard stop sending foster care children to state contractor Cornerstones of Care.īaumgardner said she would terminate the contract with Cornerstones of Care in the snap of a finger if possible and support a change in DCF leadership. TOPEKA - A Kansas senator said the Kansas Department for Children and Families lied in a foster family report, preventing the family from adopting a child who had lived with them for her entire life.Īt a Tuesday news conference at the Statehouse held by several members of a foster care oversight committee, lawmakers accused DCF of spreading misinformation about the child welfare system.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |