Four SW Kansas Foster Children have slept in DCF offices in April

Monday the Kansas Department for Children and Families announced their improvement plans. Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel held a press conference to discuss progress the department has made and plans moving forward.

When Meier-Hummel was appointed as Secretary in December 2017 she said children sleeping offices instead of foster homes was unacceptable, that problem has persisted. Four children(three in Ford and one in Morton County) in Southwest Kansas and dozens across the state have slept in offices this month. Meier-Hummel addressed the issue during the press conference.

“These are youth who have pretty serious high needs. We’re talking about youth who have serious offending behavior, some of them who have serious sexualized behavior, these are kids when they are put in the secretary’s custody and we have a short time to place them, sometimes it’s difficult to place them,” said Meier Hummel.

There are also 74 foster kids that still remain missing. Meier Hummel said Monday the agency is working everyday to combat both issues.

Meier-Hummel also said during the press conference that  the agency still hopes to get the $16.5 million in funding that Governor Colyer proposed and they will ask for an additional $24 in funding. The new funding would go toward hiring over 200 positions that are open and toward a five percent raise for current licensed workers. The money would also go toward IT needs. Meier-Hummel indicated during the press conference that Governor Colyer had give her assurance that he would advocate for the extra funding.

The DCF has also posted a Request for Information online from the public. Through April 27 feedback can be provided at http://www.dcf.ks.gov/Agency/CWCF/Pages/default.aspx