Child Welfare System Working Groups Report to the Child Welfare System Task Force Revised September 25, 2018 (This page intentionally left blank.) Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ v Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Working Group Members ....................................................................................................... 2 Overview of Process ................................................................................................................ 2 WORKING GROUP A (WGA): GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CHILD WELFARE BY THE KANSAS DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (DCF) AND FOSTER CARE................................................................................... 7 Working Group A: Overview of Meetings Held ..................................................................... 9 Working Group A: Summary of Recommendations ............................................................ 10 Goal #1: Improve Morale and Tenure of Workforce .......................................................... 11 Recommendation A1: Workforce ....................................................................................... 11 Goal #2: Streamline and Improve Technology and Communication Across the Child Welfare System .................................................................................................... 15 Recommendation A2: Data Infrastructure ....................................................................... 15 Recommendation A3: Access to Care ............................................................................... 17 Recommendation A4: Child Advocate ............................................................................... 19 Goal #3: Strengthen Contractor Oversight and Supervision by DCF ............................. 23 Recommendation A5: Analysis of Service Delivery ....................................................... 24 Recommendation A6: Outcome Measures ...................................................................... 25 WORKING GROUP B (WGB): PROTECTIVE SERVICES AND FAMILY PRESERVATION ...................................................................................................................... 27 Working Group B: Overview of Meetings Held ................................................................... 29 Working Group B: Summary of Recommendations ............................................................ 30 Cross-Goal Recommendation .................................................................................................... 31 Recommendation B1: Families First Act ........................................................................... 31 Goal #4: Strengthen Assessment of Risk and Safety and Eliminate Fatalities by Abuse and Neglect ........................................................................................................... 33 Recommendation B2: Information Sharing ...................................................................... 34 Recommendation B3: Immediate Response .................................................................... 36 Child Welfare System Working Groups Report to the Task Force i Recommendation B4: Serious Injury Review ................................................................... 37 Recommendation B5: Front-End Staffing ......................................................................... 39 Goal #5: Safely Reduce the Number of Children in the Child Welfare System ........... 41 Recommendation B6. Non-Abuse Neglect ...................................................................... 42 Goal #6: Strengthen the Safety Net and Early Childhood Education ............................. 46 Recommendation B7: Safety Net ....................................................................................... 46 WORKING GROUP C (WGC): REINTEGRATION AND PERMANENCY PLACEMENT ........................................................................................................................... 51 Working Group C: Overview of Meetings Held ................................................................... 53 Working Group C: Summary of Recommendations ............................................................ 54 Goal #7: Improve Child Well-Being and Outcomes for Youth Aging Out of Care ...... 56 Recommendation C1: Foster Care Re-Entry and Transitional Services .................... 57 Goal #8: Expand the level of Access to Child Welfare Services to Support Reintegration and Permanency .......................................................................................... 61 Recommendation C2: Service Setting ............................................................................... 62 Recommendation C3: Early Intervention .......................................................................... 64 Recommendation C4: Court Appointed Special Advocates ......................................... 65 Goal #9: Increase Reunification Rates and Improve Times to Reintegration ............... 66 Recommendation C5: Reintegration Support .................................................................. 66 Recommendation C6: Case Plans ....................................................................................... 69 Recommendation C7: Physical Access .............................................................................. 70 Cross-Goal Recommendation .................................................................................................... 72 Recommendation C8. Foster Homes ................................................................................. 72 Recommendation C9. Maximizing Federal Funding ....................................................... 74 Recommendation C10. Resources and Accountability .................................................. 75 Goal #10: Increase the Rate of and Support for Adoptions to Improve Time to Permanency ......................................................................................................................... 76 Recommendation C11: Adoption Process ........................................................................ 76 Recommendation C12: Modifications to CINC Code .................................................... 79 Recommendation C13: Post-Adoptive Support .............................................................. 81 Appendix A: Testimony Template .......................................................................................... A-1 Appendix B: Endnotes ............................................................................................................... B-1 ii Report to the Task Force Child Welfare System Working Groups Acknowledgments The three working groups convened by the Child Welfare System Task Force are grateful for the valuable input they received and contributions of the following individuals and organizations. Working Group A: General Administration of Child Welfare by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Foster Care • Sandra Lessor, Attorney, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office (Chairperson) • Laura Kelly, Senator, Ranking Minority Member of Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare (Vice Chairperson; resigned January 2018) • Daniel Cahill, District Judge, 29th Judicial District Court (Vice Chairperson; resigned April 2018) • Jeffry Larson, District Judge, 5th Judicial District Court (Vice Chairperson; appointed May 2018) • Katherine Melhorn, Physician; Member of Child Death Review Board • Mary Tye, Vice President, Kansas Foster and Adoptive Parent Association • Dona Booe, President and CEO, Kansas Children’s Services League • Kellie Hogan, Attorney, Kansas Legal Services (specializing in juvenile and Child in Need of Care [CINC] matters) • Kathy Keck, Foster/Adoptive Parent (specializing in high needs); formerly worked at Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS); Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) and Department for Children and Families (DCF) • Sarah Oberndorfer, Attorney and Foster Parent • Loren Pack, School Social Worker and Educator • Susana Prochaska, Executive Board President, Kansas School Counselor Association; Former Youth in Care • Erin Rainey, Foster Parent Working Group B: Protective Services and Family Preservation • David Ohlde, Sergeant, Marysville Police Department (Chairperson) • Jarrod Ousley, Representative, Ranking Minority Member of House Committee on Children and Seniors (Vice Chairperson) • Gina Meier-Hummel, Social Worker, formerly with The Shelter, Inc (resigned December 2017) • Gail Cozadd, Director of Children and Family Services, Kansas Children’s Service League • Sarah Coats, Social Worker • Erika DeMarco, Judge, Lenexa Municipal Court • Kathleen Holt, Retired Child Welfare Educator; Former Foster Parent • Connie Mayes, LMSW, Therapist, Social Work Educator, Consultant (Child Welfare and CINC issues), DCF Social Work Supervisor Retiree • Tara D. Wallace, LSCSW, President, Kansas African American Foster Care/Adoption Coalition • Taylor Wine, District Judge, 4th Judicial District Court • Kate Zigtema, Attorney, Zigtema Law Office, LC, Shawnee, KS Child Welfare System Working Groups Report