Kansas Foster Care System Fails To Meet Legally Required Improvements

The Kansas foster care system failed to meet legal requirements to reduce placement instability or provide mental health services to children who need them, according to the fourth annual report from an independent evaluator. The evaluation is part of a legal settlement in 2020 that set performance targets for accountability, reporting and implementation, practice improvement, and outcomes. The settlement anticipated that the Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) would achieve substantial progress and compliance in key performance areas over a multi-year period.

For children in foster care, the report found no improvement or a worsening in the following . . .