Session of 1999
HOUSE BILL No. 2571
By Committee on Appropriations
3-29
9 AN ACT
enacting the Kansas child welfare reform act; prescribing cer-
10 tain duties and
responsibilities for the secretary of social and rehabil-
11 itation services and
the department of social and rehabilitation serv-
12 ices; providing for
certain studies and reports; establishing the joint
13 legislative committee
for foster care--adoption advocates and the di-
14 vision of foster
care--adoption advocates with the legislative branch of
15 state government;
prescribing certain functions and duties therefor.
16
17 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas:
18 Section
1. This act shall be known and cited as the Kansas child
19 welfare reform act.
20 Sec. 2. The
purposes and goals of the child welfare system admin-
21 istered by the secretary of social and
rehabilitation services are to achieve,
22 for each child who may be or who is placed
in the custody of the secretary
23 of social and rehabilitation services,
permanency in a safe and stable en-
24 vironment with quality programs.
25 Sec. 3. The
secretary of social and rehabilitation services shall in-
26 tegrate the provision of family
preservation services under the child wel-
27 fare system with the provision of foster
care services so that such services
28 are an integral part of the foster care
services component of the system.
29 The secretary shall adopt and work to
achieve the goal of intervening in
30 all appropriate cases with intensive,
in-home family preservation services
31 to reduce the risks that children will be
removed from their homes.
32 Sec.
4. From the time that a child is placed in the custody of
the
33 secretary of social and rehabilitation
services, the secretary of social and
34 rehabilitation services is responsible for
all aspects of the child's life and
35 to achieve permanency for the child in a
safe and stable environment with
36 quality programs as prescribed by this act
and by other statutes. The
37 secretary of social and rehabilitation
services may provide by contract for
38 services to be provided for children placed
in the custody of the secretary,
39 but the responsibility remains with the
secretary of social and rehabili-
40 tation services to provide family
preservation, foster care, adoption and
41 other necessary services for each child
placed in the custody of the sec-
42 retary and to ensure that all provisions of
state or federal statutes, rules
43 and regulations, and policies and
procedures of the department of social
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2
1 and rehabilitation services are
complied with and adhered to with respect
2 to the health, safety and welfare of
such child.
3 Sec.
5. The responsibilities and duties of the secretary of social
and
4 rehabilitation services and the
department of social and rehabilitation
5 services for each child placed in the
custody of the secretary of social and
6 rehabilitation services, or otherwise
receiving care and services from the
7 department of social and
rehabilitation services, specifically include, but
8 are not limited to, the duties and
responsibilities prescribed by this act.
9 With respect to each such child, the
secretary of social and rehabilitation
10 services shall:
11 (a) Ensure that
all officers and employees of the department of social
12 and rehabilitation services provide
complete and accurate information
13 about each child to law enforcement
officers, judges, attorneys and others,
14 upon proper request, in all appropriate
forums and circumstances, in-
15 cluding the decision to remove a child from
the child's home, throughout
16 the period of continuing state
responsibility for the child;
17 (b) ensure that
all children removed from their homes and placed in
18 the custody of the secretary of social and
rehabilitation services are
19 housed in the least restrictive, most
home-like setting consistent with each
20 child's needs and shall make every effort
to ensure that each child placed
21 in the custody of the secretary is not
relocated from one housing location
22 to another more frequently than is
absolutely necessary and then only if
23 the relocation is required for the health,
safety and welfare of the child;
24 (c) ensure that
responsible personnel of the department of social and
25 rehabilitation services have and maintain
current knowledge of and in-
26 formation about the exact placement of each
child in the custody of the
27 secretary;
28 (d) ensure that
all necessary and appropriate parties are invited and
29 encouraged to be in attendance at all
periodic administrative hearings or
30 conferences about the child and to
participate in all decisions regarding
31 the child and the child's family, including
the social worker employed by
32 the department of social and rehabilitation
services assigned to the child,
33 staff of any contractor providing services
for the child, the natural parents
34 or guardians of the child, the foster
parents of the child and the guardian
35 ad litem of the child;
36 (e) require a
collaborative service model for the provision of care
37 and services to each child in the custody
of the secretary so that thereby
38 the secretary can (1) bring together all
the stakeholders in providing serv-
39 ices for the child including school
teachers or other personnel, foster and
40 natural parents, behavioral health
providers and physicians when appro-
41 priate, social workers and others, (2)
ensure that appropriate services are
42 recommended for children and their
families, (3) ascertain whether chil-
43 dren and their families are receiving the
recommended services, and, (4)
HB 2571
3
1 if services are not being provided,
ensure that the reasons for services
2 not being provided are clearly
documented and reviewed by appropriate
3 supervisory personnel of the
department of social and rehabilitation
4 services;
5
(f) require, under the collaborative service model for the
provision
6 of services, that each collaborative
team meet regularly to review the
7 service plan for each child and, in
each case involving service providers,
8 to regularly update a comprehensive
service plan to coordinate and assure
9 the provision of services by the
contracting service provider and any sub-
10 contracting service providers
thereunder;
11 (g) assess the
housing needs of foster children on a periodic basis,
12 determine the availability of housing
placement opportunities and facili-
13 ties and ensure that there are a sufficient
number of needed housing
14 placement providers throughout the
state;
15 (h) assess the
service needs of children and their families on a pe-
16 riodic basis, assess the availability of
needed services and ensure that
17 needed services are available on a
statewide basis;
18 (i) ensure that
the child and the child's family are making functional
19 improvement in such areas as socialization,
educational attendance and
20 achievement and lack of involvement in the
juvenile justice system and,
21 for each child with behavior disorders,
ensure that improvements are also
22 demonstrated in relation to the ability to
remain in the community, re-
23 duction in symptomatology and achievement
of developmental mile-
24 stones, among others that are specifically
appropriate for the circum-
25 stances and characteristics of the child
and the child's family;
26 (j) develop a
portfolio for each child receiving foster care or adoption
27 services to provide a readily available
documentary record containing a
28 comprehensive health, social, educational
and developmental record of
29 the child which shall include, but is not
limited to, each of the following:
30 (1) Complete
health history, including immunization and dental
31 records;
32 (2) mental health
history;
33 (3) early
periodic, screening, diagnostic and treatment report;
34 (4) results of
psychological and educational testing;
35 (5) development
scales results;
36 (6) educational
placement and achievement level;
37 (7) availability
of health insurance or other health care coverage or
38 resources;
39 (8) involvement
with law enforcement;
40 (9) records of
substance abuse;
41 (10) employment
information for each of the parents; and
42 (11) income
resources available to provide support for the child;
43 (k) maintain a
centralized record system for all children in the child
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1 welfare system that includes
statewide tracking of the placement of chil-
2 dren in the custody of the secretary,
the services recommended and re-
3 ceived by the child and the child's
family, the record of the child's func-
4 tional outcomes progress, the
encounter data for services provided to
5 children for reimbursement purposes,
and a system that will call imme-
6 diate attention to supervising
personnel of the department of social and
7 rehabilitation services when a
contractor, or any subcontractor, is not
8 providing services for a child or is
not supplying encounter data for a child
9 receiving services from the
contractor or subcontractor;
10 (l) develop and
implement, in conjunction with other appropriate
11 public agencies, a comprehensive system for
the detection, investigation
12 and prosecution of state employees or
employees of contractors or sub-
13 contractors who falsify any records of or
regarding any child or the care
14 or other services provided under the child
welfare system for any child
15 or the child's family;
16 (m) develop and
incorporate into all service provider contracts ap-
17 propriate and reasonable process and
programmatic outcomes which are
18 applicable to contractors with whom the
secretary of social and rehabili-
19 tation services has placed children, which
are focused on the child's func-
20 tioning including, among other areas of
functional improvement, im-
21 provements in the child's socialization,
educational attendance and
22 achievement, lack of involvement in the
juvenile justice system and, for
23 each child with behavior disorders,
improvements in the ability to remain
24 in the community, reduction in
symptomatology and achievement of de-
25 velopmental milestones, and which are not
simply outcomes prescribing
26 records that track the number of placements
and length of placements
27 for each child;
28 (n) assess the
achievement of children's, families' and contractors'
29 outcomes on a periodic basis and report the
results of those outcomes
30 assessments to appropriate legislative
committees, the governor, the ju-
31 diciary, members of the press, families and
the residents of Kansas;
32 (o) conduct
contract negotiations with current and potential service
33 providers for the child welfare system to
include reasonable and antici-
34 pated costs, the number and types of
children projected to be in the
35 system, the number and types of placements
that such children will need,
36 the number and types of services such
children will need, the expected
37 and acceptable caseloads of the social
workers employed by contractors,
38 and other reasonably anticipated costs and
other factors that must be
39 considered and provided for to achieve the
purposes and goals of the
40 system;
41 (p) enter into
contracts with service providers which include financial
42 incentives and disincentives that are based
on the contractor's perform-
43 ance and the functionally-based performance
of the children served by
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5
1 the contractor, that are outcomes and
performance based, and that are
2 designed to attain and have the
primary goal of returning each child to
3 the child's natural home and parents,
if a safe and nurturing environment
4 is provided in such home, and the
secondary goal of meeting federal
5 requirements for adoption for the
child, if this is the best option for the
6 child;
7 (q) require
each contractor providing foster care services to have a
8 subcontract with the local licensed
community mental health centers
9 within the geographic areas served by
the contractor to provide pre-hos-
10 pitalization screening and admittance to
state mental health facilities;
11 (r) prepare and
publish in the Kansas register a report of an evalu-
12 ation of each contractor's adherence to the
contractual requirements and
13 to all applicable state or federal laws,
rules and regulations and depart-
14 mental policies and procedures and the
functional performance the con-
15 tractor achieved under the contract with
the department of social and
16 rehabilitation services;
17 (s) organize and
administer the provision of all mental health serv-
18 ices, including substance abuse services,
for children under the child wel-
19 fare system, so that such services, like
physical health services, are pro-
20 vided by qualified medicaid providers under
the same procedures
21 through the use of the child's medical
card, with utilization review in
22 accordance with the state medicaid plan,
and such services are not pro-
23 vided through family preservation, foster
care or adoption service pro-
24 vider contracts;
25 (t) identify and
provide appropriate training to officers and employ-
26 ees of the department of social and
rehabilitation services to ensure that
27 the child welfare system is operated in a
manner that is consistent with
28 applicable state and federal laws, rules
and regulations and departmental
29 policies and procedures;
30 (u) communicate
and work with the families, foster parents, service
31 providers, subcontractors, social workers,
judges, school personnel, law
32 enforcement officers, district attorneys,
guardians ad litem, officers and
33 employees of the juvenile justice authority
and other stakeholders in the
34 child welfare system as needed to identify
(1) the strengths and weak-
35 nesses in the system, (2) barriers to
achieving the purposes and goals of
36 the system, (3) potential solutions for
addressing any weaknesses or bar-
37 riers identified, and (4) other appropriate
matters to ensure that the sys-
38 tem provides the care and services to each
child in the custody of the
39 secretary;
40 (v) take
appropriate, positive actions to address and remedy all iden-
41 tified weaknesses in the child welfare
system and to remove all identified
42 barriers to achieving the purposes and
goals of the system, including pro-
43 posing and supporting legislation to
address such weaknesses and barriers
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1 and related issues that need
legislative action;
2
(w) maintain a timely, itemized and accurate accounting of the
total
3 costs of the child welfare system
which includes any financial losses ex-
4 perienced or debts incurred by
contractors and subcontractors in provid-
5 ing services under the system;
and
6 (x) prepare
and submit a report by August 1, 1999, to the committee
7 on appropriations of the house of
representatives, the committee on ways
8 and means of the senate and the
legislative post audit committee which
9 sets forth in detail the debt
incurred by each entity contracting with the
10 secretary to provide foster care services
and the debt incurred by the
11 subcontractors of such foster care service
providers and which presents
12 recommendations on methods by which the
state could appropriately and
13 effectively participate in reducing such
debts.
14 Sec.
6. During the period from the effective date of this act
until
15 the first day of the regular session of the
legislature commencing in 2003,
16 the joint committee on children's issues
shall monitor, review and make
17 recommendations relating to child welfare
programs and services of the
18 department of social and rehabilitation
services, specifically including, but
19 not limited to, family preservation, foster
care and adoption programs and
20 shall prepare an annual report of findings
and recommendations which
21 shall be provided to the legislative
coordinating council and to the legis-
22 lature on or before the first day of the
regular session of the legislature
23 in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and may
prepare such additional reports
24 during such period as may be deemed
appropriate by the joint committee
25 on children's issues to the committee on
appropriations of the house of
26 representatives and the committee on ways
and means of the senate.
27 Sec. 7. (a)
There is hereby established the joint legislative commit-
28 tee for foster care--adoption advocates
which shall consist of five mem-
29 bers of the senate and five members of the
house of representatives. The
30 five members of the senate shall be
appointed as follows: Three by the
31 president and two by the minority leader.
The five members of the house
32 of representatives shall be appointed as
follows: Three by the speaker and
33 two by the minority leader. Each senate
member appointed and each
34 representative member appointed shall serve
on the joint legislative com-
35 mittee for foster care--adoption advocates
during such member's current
36 term as a legislator. The officer so
appointing shall notify promptly the
37 joint committee of the appointment. A
quorum of the joint committee
38 shall be six. Except as otherwise
specifically provided by law, all actions
39 of the joint committee may be taken by a
majority of those present when
40 there is a quorum. At the commencement of
each regular session of the
41 legislature, the joint legislative
committee for foster care--adoption ad-
42 vocates shall organize by electing a
chairperson and a vice-chairperson
43 who are not members of the same house of
the legislature. The vice-
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1 chairperson shall exercise all of the
powers of the chairperson in the
2 absence of the chairperson. The joint
legislative committee for foster
3 care--adoption advocates may meet at
any time, at any place in the state
4 on the call of the chairperson. The
joint committee may introduce such
5 legislation as it deems necessary in
performing its duties under this act.
6 (b) There
is hereby established the office of the director of foster
7 care--adoption advocates. The
director of foster care--adoption advocates
8 shall be appointed by the joint
legislative committee for foster care--
9 adoption advocates and shall serve
under its direction. The director of
10 foster care--adoption advocates may be
removed from office by the affir-
11 mative vote of not less than seven members
of the joint legislative com-
12 mittee for foster care--adoption advocates
taken at any regular meeting
13 of such committee. The director of foster
care--adoption advocates shall
14 be a person of extensive experience and
recognized qualification in the
15 field of ombudsman representation and
government advocacy. The di-
16 rector of foster care--adoption advocates
shall be in the unclassified serv-
17 ice and shall receive such compensation as
is determined by the legislative
18 coordinating council, except that such
compensation may be increased
19 but not diminished during such service. The
joint legislative committee
20 for foster care--adoption advocates may
recommend to the legislative co-
21 ordinating council changes in the
compensation of the director of foster
22 care--adoption advocates. The director of
foster care--adoption advocates
23 shall receive travel expenses and
subsistence expenses and allowances as
24 provided for members of the legislature in
K.S.A. 75-3212 and amend-
25 ments thereto when attending any authorized
meeting or business outside
26 the city of Topeka.
27 (c) There is
hereby established the division of foster care--adoption
28 advocates within the legislative branch of
the government. The division
29 of foster care--adoption advocates shall be
under the direct supervision
30 of the director of foster care--adoption
advocates in accordance with pol-
31 icies adopted by the joint legislative
committee for foster care--adoption
32 advocates. Employees in the division of
foster care--adoption advocates
33 shall be in the unclassified service, shall
receive such compensation as is
34 provided under this act and shall be
covered by the state group health
35 plan and Kansas public employees retirement
system to the same extent
36 as other state employees. Employees of the
division of foster care--adop-
37 tion advocates shall receive travel
expenses and subsistence expenses and
38 allowances as provided for other state
employees. Employees in the di-
39 vision of foster care--adoption advocates
shall be employed by and be
40 responsible to the director of foster
care--adoption advocates who shall
41 fix the compensation of each such employee
subject to approval of the
42 joint legislative committee for foster
care--adoption advocates and within
43 budget and appropriations therefor. The
annual budget request of the
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8
1 division shall be prepared by the
director of foster care--adoption advo-
2 cates and the director of foster
care--adoption advocates shall present it
3 to the joint legislative committee
for foster care--adoption advocates. The
4 joint committee shall make any
changes it desires in the budget request
5 and then shall transmit it to the
legislative coordinating council. Such
6 council shall make any changes it
desires in such budget request and upon
7 approval of the budget request by the
council, the director of foster care-
8 -adoption advocates shall submit it
to the director of the budget as other
9 budget requests are submitted.
10 (d) Members of
the joint legislative committee for foster care--adop-
11 tion advocates shall receive compensation,
travel expenses and subsis-
12 tence expenses and allowances as provided
in K.S.A. 75-3212 and amend-
13 ments thereto. All compensation and
expenses of members of the joint
14 legislative committee for foster
care--adoption advocates arising out of
15 activities as members of such committee
shall be paid from appropriations
16 made for the division of foster
care--adoption advocates. All compensation
17 and expenses of the director of foster
care--adoption advocates and em-
18 ployees of the division of foster
care--adoption advocates shall be paid
19 from appropriations made for the division
of foster care--adoption ad-
20 vocates. All payrolls and vouchers for
payment of amounts from appro-
21 priations made for the division of foster
care--adoption advocates shall be
22 approved by the director of foster
care--adoption advocates.
23 Sec. 8. The
director of foster care--adoption advocates shall:
24 (a) Employ such
employees as may be necessary to carry out the
25 duties of the division of foster
care--adoption advocates;
26 (b) enter and
inspect documents relating to complaints, investiga-
27 tions and studies under the control of and
performed by any advocates
28 at any reasonable time of day and may
delegate that authority in writing
29 to any employee of the division of foster
care--adoption advocates;
30 (c) ensure that
no individual involved in the authorization of any
31 individual to represent the division of
foster care--adoption advocates is
32 subject to a conflict of interest;
33 (d) ensure that
no officer, employee or other representative of the
34 division of foster care--adoption advocates
is subject to a conflict of in-
35 terest; and
36 (e) ensure that
policies and procedures are in place to identify and
37 remedy all conflicts of interest.
38 Sec. 9. (a)
Records of the division of foster care--adoption advocates
39 and records of the director of foster
care--adoption advocates included
40 shall not be disclosed directly or
indirectly to any person except as au-
41 thorized by the director of foster
care--adoption advocates.
42 (b) No documents
relating to complaints, investigations or studies in
43 the possession of the director of foster
care--adoption advocates or any
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9
1 employee of the director of foster
care--adoption advocates shall be read,
2 copied or taken by any officer or
employee of the state of Kansas except
3 as authorized by the director of
foster care--adoption advocates or the
4 director's designee.
5 Sec.
10. The director of foster care--adoption advocates shall
pro-
6 vide advocacy for citizens on matters
relating to foster care or adoption,
7 or both, shall investigate complaints
concerning the foster care and adop-
8 tion systems in this state and shall
perform such other duties as may be
9 specified by the joint legislative
committee for foster care--adoption
10 advocates.
11 Sec. 11. This act shall
take effect and be in force from and after its
12 publication in the Kansas register.
13