We are Kathey and Rob Raskin of Las Vegas, and we believe the care of our nation’s children is the top priority. Kansas’ problematic child welfare agency is a good place to start. On Monday, they asked lawmakers for funds to solve growing concerns with foster children sleeping in offices, kids lost in the system, and a caseload that’s hitting the roof.
Legislators and advocates voiced their indignation earlier upon hearing news that children have been sleeping in foster care contractors’ offices because there was no room in foster homes. The Department for Children and Families’ secretary Gina Meier-Hummel stated some of the desired funds would go toward keeping beds open for difficult-to-place children.
The funds, $16.5 million over 24 months, would also permit DCF to bring on more individuals to find run-aways and those who’ve otherwise disappeared from foster care placements.
Meier-Hummel’s forerunner, Phyllis Gilmore, was disparaged for being apparently unaware of three sisters missing from their foster home in Tonganoxie for several months. Meier-Hummel receives a daily report of missing children and she stated roughly 70 children are currently missing from foster care placements. She also stated that $6.55 million of the additional funds would go toward keeping children with their families safely and out of foster care.
Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer stated the appointment of a new DCF secretary, in addition to the legislative interest regarding a child welfare task force which was created in 2016, has given them a chance for change.
Colyer stated, “We’re at a juncture where we have legislative support, we have […] new ideas and we’re […] doing a top-to-bottom review – we want to deal with problems.” Colyer is taking the lead on child welfare in the hopes that he’ll soon replace Governor Sam Brownback. He’s also running for election in November.
Representative Linda Gallagher, a Lenexa Republican, and a member of the Child Welfare Task Force, stated the suggestion for additional funds tells her Brownback plans on making child welfare a priority this legislative session.
Gallagher stated, “All of the […] funds are needed, and they […] address problem areas that we heard about last year. Most of the legislature is aware of the problems […] and has the willingness to address it with additional funding.”
If you’ve seen a child care issue, anywhere in the foster care system, please report it on our Kathey and Rob Raskin Stop DHR webpage. Do so now, and do your part to get your state officials to give our children fighting chance for a better life. You can contact your representatives here.