Wichita Eagle: Kansas DCF failed to meet 16 standards for child safety, well-being over past year

8/30/18

"The Kansas agency in charge of child welfare failed to meet 16 standards for keeping children safe and giving them a stable home over the past year.

The Department for Children and Families this week disclosed a report tracking 30 performance measurements. On more than half, the agency’s performance didn’t meet federal and state standards.

The shortfall shows the agency still needs to improve after a year of intense scrutiny that led to changes in leadership and a push for better performance. The DCF said it has implemented several initiatives to improve.

'I’m not sure that there has been a full acknowledgment of the numbers that are on this sheet,' Benet Magnuson, director of the social justice group Kansas Appleseed, said of the report.

​The report covered July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018, and used the DCF’s own data. Among its findings:

• Children had 8.9 homes for every 1,000 days they were in foster care — more than double the standard of 4.12.
• The agency assessed family strengths and needs within 30 days just 66 percent of the time. Standards call for timely assessments 95 percent of the time.
• Children were adopted in less than two years just 17.6 percent of the time. The standard is more than 26.8 percent."​

Read more: Wichita Eagle