Kansas child welfare was in crisis. Today, more families are getting help they need

Protecting children and strengthening families is difficult work. It requires a collective impact approach that relies heavily on our relationship with communities.

Unfortunately, when Gov. Laura Kelly took office in 2019, our child welfare system was in crisis. The agency was hollowed out and stripped of its resources — compromising its ability to build those critical relationships and provide the best possible services to Kansas children and families.

I am proud to say that the Kansas Department for Children and Families, or DCF, has spent the last 2 1/2 years dismantling those years of system neglect.

We’ve moved the state away from a traditional child welfare system — and toward a child and family well-being system. A system that prioritizes family, primary prevention and community engagement.

Under the leadership of Gov. Kelly, and the extraordinary work and dedication of the more than 2,500 DCF employees, we are significantly improving outcomes.

To continue that important work, the agency has transitioned to the new Kansas Practice Model. This customized child protection framework is designed to support family engagement, safety planning for our most vulnerable children and agency decision-making.

The new model guides DCF workers as they work alongside children, youth and families. It integrates tools such as Team Decision Making and Family Finding to ensure lasting safety for children and overall family well-being.

So far, results are encouraging. There are currently 6,800 children in foster care, down from 7,600 in 2019.

In state fiscal year 2020, there were 15% fewer children entering foster care than in 2019. There was an additional 11% reduction in children entering care in 2021.

The Kansas Practice Model also has been a catalyst for change. On Oct. 1, DCF announced a new mental health service called Family Crisis Response. The helpline connects families and caregivers who have children experiencing emotional crisis or other behavioral health symptoms, including substance abuse disorder, to needed services — including mobile crisis response — anywhere in the state.

DCF also is doing innovative work in prevention. As one of the first states in the nation to adopt the Family First Prevention Services Act, Kansas is a leader in preventing the need for foster care. Family First provides evidence-based services in mental health, substance use, parent skill-building and kinship navigation.

Again, the outcomes are encouraging. Nearly 90% of children and youth who have reached 12 months from the time of referral have remained home without the need for foster care. That translates to about 1,700 children who stayed home with family instead of entering care.

The work isn’t done. My team is initiating innovative approaches to reducing instances of foster care placement disruption and the need for group care. We’re working to improve autism services for children in care and working with our judicial partners to reduce the time that children who enter care spend in foster care.

We are partnering with schools and community service providers in Emporia to refer families to needed services before they have formal contact with DCF. We like to think of our partners as mandated supporters, not mandated reporters.

As we continue to transform DCF, we want to do it with families as experts and innovators in co-designing needed services, and cultivating local support networks. We also understand this all must happen with an eye toward racial equity.

I could not be more excited about our chosen path, and I look forward to continuing this important work alongside Kansas communities and partners.

This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM.