tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80390692456448242532024-03-21T08:32:36.212-07:00Children Need Grandparents NOT Foster CareKansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-21917223955819521572012-04-04T19:07:00.000-07:002012-04-04T19:08:07.644-07:00Kansas Family Rights Coalition News LettersKansas Family Rights Coalition News Letter April 2012<br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/87901155/April-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-Coalition-News-Letter">http://www.scribd.com/doc/87901155/April-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-Coalition-News-Letter</a><br /><br />Kansas Family Rights Coalition News Letter March 2012<br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/82747741/Mar-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-Coalition-News-Letter">http://www.scribd.com/doc/82747741/Mar-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-Coalition-News-Letter</a><br /><br />Kansas Family Rights Coalition News Letter Feb 2012<br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/80043249/Feb-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-Coalition-News-Letter">http://www.scribd.com/doc/80043249/Feb-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-Coalition-News-Letter</a><br /><br />Kansas Family Rights Coalition News Letter Jan 2012<br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/80042764/Jan-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-News-Letter">http://www.scribd.com/doc/80042764/Jan-2012-Kansas-Family-Rights-News-Letter</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-81230424685404131012012-02-12T07:41:00.000-08:002012-02-12T07:52:07.997-08:00Message to Kansas Senators, Do Not Confirm Phyllis Gilmore<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><br /><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRsVkk6dwwyQQWICT0sIypxTz4pQNJZ2UNyiohTMeIpO5sA8oG3U70lSIwhQjOG2ucfaBNEcTrT-w1Gs___B9JuI8PJI3VcuIjQqPwvTcAuVex2o287JV7HwmVWM9swETA52Y-gmStC9r/s1600/Gilmore.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRsVkk6dwwyQQWICT0sIypxTz4pQNJZ2UNyiohTMeIpO5sA8oG3U70lSIwhQjOG2ucfaBNEcTrT-w1Gs___B9JuI8PJI3VcuIjQqPwvTcAuVex2o287JV7HwmVWM9swETA52Y-gmStC9r/s200/Gilmore.JPG" width="200" height="150" sda="true" /></a></div><br />Phyllis Gilmore was the Executive Director of the KSBSRB, Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board for the past 11 years. The board was established in 1980 to license and regulate psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, master level psychologists, marriage and family therapists and addiction counselors.<br /><br />If the KSBSRB receives a report of alleged violation of one of their licensed workers, the board makes a jurisdictional determination on whether or not to investigate which must meet two criteria.<br /><br />1. "The complaint pertains to a profession or scope of practice regulated by the board".<br />2. "The complaint alleges facts constituting noncompliance with, or violations of the rules, regulations, and/or Statutes, and/or Board ordered conditions governing the practice or conduct of the professional on whom the report is being filed".<br /><br />See the link here for the Investigation Policies and Procedures, KSBSRB March 2006<br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/80433902/Phyllis-Gilmore-Exec-Dir-KSBSRB-Investigation-Policies-and-Procedures-March-13-2006">http://www.scribd.com/doc/80433902/Phyllis-Gilmore-Exec-Dir-KSBSRB-Investigation-Policies-and-Procedures-March-13-2006</a><br /><br />The December 11, 2006, Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board Complaint Review Committee Minutes show that there were several cases where the committee determined "lack of jurisdiction". One of the cases included a child in SRS custody and the complaint was dismissed due to "lack of jurisdiction". There was also a complaint that a licensed social worker violated the confidentiality of adoptive parents.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /><strong>NOTE, Several complaints have been made against Social Workers and those have been </strong><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /><strong>DISMISSED DUE TO LACK OF JURISDICTION under Gilmore's watch.</strong></div><br /><br />See this link for the Dec. 11, 2006 KSBSRB Committee Minutes<br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/80434272/Phyllis-Gilmore-KSBSRB-Complaint-Review-Committee-Dec-11-2006-Minutes">http://www.scribd.com/doc/80434272/Phyllis-Gilmore-KSBSRB-Complaint-Review-Committee-Dec-11-2006-Minutes</a><br /><br />On March 18, 2008, in a closed meeting Phyllis Gilmore and Roger Skurlock were questioned about these cases that they refused to investigate which were noted on the Dec 11, 2006 meeting notes. During the meeting Gilmore and Skurlock claimed they investigate ALL allegations, but that isn't the case.<br />Here is a clip from that meeting. Turn up your speakers, parts of the conversation are transcribed and you can read it. I would start at 1:00 minute into the video and at 1:35 you can read and hear the questioning of these cases:<br /><br /><iframe height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_6-h5kB4CJY" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /><br />No Surprise Here: "Her (Gilmore's) private sector experience is primarily within the areas of adoption and health care." <a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/Pages/Secretary/NewSecretaryGilmore.aspx">http://www.srs.ks.gov/Pages/Secretary/NewSecretaryGilmore.aspx</a><br />The Senate Confirmation Oversight Committee will debate whether to recommend the appointment to the full Senate, which will probably vote on Gilmore’s appointment within about a month. Contact every Senator in Kansas ASAP to recommend that Gilmore NOT be approved for this position.<br /><br />HERE is a list of all Kansas Senators<br /><br /><a href="mailto:Steve.Abrams@senate.ks.gov">Steve.Abrams@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Pat.Apple@senate.ks.gov">Pat.Apple@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Terry.Bruce@senate.ks.gov">Terry.Bruce@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Pete.Brungardt@senate.ks.gov">Pete.Brungardt@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Les.Donovan@senate.ks.gov">Les.Donovan@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Jay.Emler@senate.ks.gov">Jay.Emler@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Oletha.Faust-Goudeau@senate.ks.gov">Oletha.Faust-Goudeau@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Marci.Francisco@senate.ks.gov">Marci.Francisco@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:David.Haley@senate.ks.gov">David.Haley@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Anthony.Hensley@senate.ks.gov">Anthony.Hensley@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Tom.Holland@senate.ks.gov">Tom.Holland@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Terrie.Huntington@senate.ks.gov">Terrie.Huntington@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Laura.Kelly@senate.ks.gov">Laura.Kelly@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Dick.Kelsey@senate.ks.gov">Dick.Kelsey@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Jeff.King@senate.ks.gov">Jeff.King@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Kelly.Kultala@senate.ks.gov">Kelly.Kultala@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Jeff.Longbine@senate.ks.gov">Jeff.Longbine@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Garrett.Love@senate.ks.gov">Garrett.Love@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Julia.Lynn@senate.ks.gov">Julia.Lynn@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Bob.Marshall@senate.ks.gov">Bob.Marshall@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Ty.Masterson@senate.ks.gov">Ty.Masterson@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Carolyn.Mcginn@senate.ks.gov">Carolyn.Mcginn@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Ray.Merrick@senate.ks.gov">Ray.Merrick@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Steve.Morris@senate.ks.gov">Steve.Morris@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Robert.Olson@senate.ks.gov">Robert.Olson@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Ralph.Ostmeyer@senate.ks.gov">Ralph.Ostmeyer@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Tim.Owens@senate.ks.gov">Tim.Owens@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Mike.Petersen@senate.ks.gov">Mike.Petersen@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Mary.PilcherCook@senate.ks.gov">Mary.PilcherCook@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Dennis.Pyle@senate.ks.gov">Dennis.Pyle@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Roger.Reitz@senate.ks.gov">Roger.Reitz@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Allen.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov">Allen.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Vicki.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov">Vicki.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Jean.Schodorf@senate.ks.gov">Jean.Schodorf@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Chris.Steineger@senate.ks.gov">Chris.Steineger@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Mark.Taddiken@senate.ks.gov">Mark.Taddiken@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Ruth.Teichman@senate.ks.gov">Ruth.Teichman@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Dwayne.Umbarger@senate.ks.gov">Dwayne.Umbarger@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:John.Vratil@senate.ks.gov">John.Vratil@senate.ks.gov</a> ; <a href="mailto:Susan.Wagle@senate.ks.gov">Susan.Wagle@senate.ks.gov</a> ;Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-52221586925969217312012-01-22T13:11:00.000-08:002012-01-22T13:19:18.284-08:00Jan 3, 2012, Family and Advocates Spoke Before the South Central Legislative DelegationMarlene Jones, Penn State Sandusky Scandal Has Nothing On Sedgwick County<br /><br /><br /><iframe height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3gyRUjZt-mY" frameborder="0" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Jan. 3, 2012, Marlene Jones spoke before the South Central Legislative Delegation. Marlene has been coming to the legislative forums for several years and speaking on the wrongful removal and failure to reunify the children with the parent.Last year the citizens were told there was going to be a new committee to address these issues and that didn't happen. Marlene requested that the legislators support and cosponser the protective parent act that will be reintroduced this year as protective parents are losing custody of their children after reporting abuse.<br /><br /><br />Donna Roberts, The Shameful Secret In Our Own Backyard, Sexual Abuse Of Children In Sedgwick<br /><br /><iframe height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/D0f5s6fi3zM" frameborder="0" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br />Jan. 3, 2012, Donna Roberts, ACRA, A Childs Rights Association, spoke before the South Central Legislative Delegation. Donna Roberts' concern is regarding the sexual abuse of children in Sedgwick County and the coverup by professionals, law enforcement, SRS, therapists, and how the Judges are failing these children. Donna said that Kansas needs a major investigation by the feds and the people who have covered up the abuse of these children need to be prosecuted. The bottom line is that sexual abuse is a crime and it is being covered up in Sedgwick County.<br /><br /><br />Glen Burdue, "Even one child needlessly traumatized or abused while in the SRS system is too many"<br /><br /><iframe height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZcHPvYMp7ZA" frameborder="0" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Jan. 3, 2012, Glen Burdue spoke before the South Central Legislative Delegation. Glen asked the legislators for their support to provide new legislation to provide statistics and identify problems with child protective services. Glen Burdue, "Even one child needlessly traumatized or abused while in the SRS system is too many".<br /><br /><br />Grandfather Wendell Turner had to make a lot of noise with Youthville to protect his grandchildren from Pendland<br /><br /><br /><iframe height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5zeSTEUByDk" frameborder="0" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Jan 3, 2012, Grandfather Wendell Turner spoke before the South Central Legislative Delegation. Rick Pendland who worked for Youthville was also a sponsored foster parent, former school teacher and he worked at the Wichita Children's Home. Pendland, who now sits in the Cowley County Jail for allegedly raping multiple children, wanted to be the foster placement for Wendell Turner's grandchildren.Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-31084625370854497722011-11-13T14:18:00.000-08:002011-11-13T14:22:53.923-08:00Kansas Child poverty meetings scheduled this week"The meetings are titled “Rising to the Challenge: Reducing Childhood Poverty and Improving Childhood Outcomes in Kansas” and will feature national and state experts on childhood poverty, including the Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector and Ron Haskins..."<br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/11/10/2097958/child-poverty-meetings-scheduled.html#ixzz1dP4xBSFD">http://www.kansas.com/2011/11/10/2097958/child-poverty-meetings-scheduled.html#ixzz1dP4xBSFD</a><br /><br />This is a public meeting and even though anyone can attend, the State is requiring citizens to register for this event.<br /><br />Here is the link: <a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/Pages/TownHallMeetings.aspx">http://www.srs.ks.gov/Pages/TownHallMeetings.aspx</a><br /><br />The meetings will be:<br />1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Jack Reardon Convention Center, 500 Minnesota Ave., KC, KS<br />1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Drury Plaza Broadview Hotel, 400 W. Douglas, Wichita<br />1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Dennis Perryman Athletic Complex at.Garden City Community College<br /><br />From The Heritage Foundation, Foster Care: Safety Net or Trap Door? by Thomas Atwood,<br />March 25, 2011.<br />"States tend to overuse foster care because they receive federal matching funds<br />for every qualifying child in care. "<br /><br />"Abstract: For tens of thousands of endangered children, foster care has become a trap door rather than the safety net they need to help them succeed. In particular, federal financing policies have favored foster care over other child welfare approaches, leading states to overuse foster care to the detriment of children who could be adopted or whose families could be rehabilitated."<br /><a href="http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/03/foster-care-safety-net-or-trap-door">http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/03/foster-care-safety-net-or-trap-door</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-87468337189544819302011-11-13T14:16:00.000-08:002011-11-13T14:18:07.412-08:00According to the New Secretary of SRS, Rob Siedlecki, Regarding Adoptions, IT'S ALL FREE MONEY!!!According to the new Secretary of SRS, it's all FREE MONEY!<br />Free money to adopt Kansas children.<br />Free money to have medical coverage for those children.<br />Free money to send adopted children to college.<br />What about all the FREE MONTHLY SUBSIDIES AND TAX BREAKS those adopters receive?<br /><br />And then there is the FREE $300,000 to Promote Adoptions of Kansas children.<br /><br />It's NOT FREE MONEY, it is tax payers dollars funded by the private sector.<br />That would include, Secretary of SRS Rob Siedlecki's income. The private sector pays for his home, his life style and income.<br /><br />Here's the story: <a href="http://cjonline.com/news/2011-11-07/srs-offers-300000-spur-adoption#comment-462415">http://cjonline.com/news/2011-11-07/srs-offers-300000-spur-adoption#comment-462415</a><br /><br />By <a href="http://cjonline.com/taxonomy/term/47">Tim Carpenter</a> <a style="DISPLAY: none" id="license-310690a9a271cfb392f8a4a807bdd5c0" href="http://cjonline.com/news/2011-11-07/srs-offers-300000-spur-adoption#license-310690a9a271cfb392f8a4a807bdd5c0" rel="item-license">Copyright 2011 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </a>November 7, 2011 - 06:11pm<br />SRS offers $300,000 to spur adoption<br />THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL<br />Jonathan and Allison Schumm's family is big enough to conduct a regulation basketball game.That wouldn't be possible without five siblings adopted by the Topeka couple to complement their three biological children.The team was present at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center for the announcement Monday of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services' offer of $300,000 from a federal grant to the company proposing the most imaginative one-year marketing campaign to recruit adoptive families."This is a heartfelt cause," said SRS Secretary Robert Siedlecki. "This campaign is directed towards our children who are typically hardest to place in adoptive families — the kids of sibling groups, with mental or physical disabilities or teenagers."He said the state had 5,200 children in foster care. Five hundred of 900 in the adoption queue are awaiting completion of the adoption process, but 420 haven’t yet been linked with a prospective adoptive family."Those 400 children really are alone," Siedlecki said.Jonathan Schumm said he could attest to the compelling force for good generated by adoption of children. His roster: Nicole, 16, Alisa, 13, Emmanuel, 11, Jaquale, 6, Angel, 5, Mercy, 5, Isaiah, 3, and Kyrsten, 1."I'm not here to tell you foster care and adoption are easy," he said while the children played in the center's kid-friendly facility. "It's been worth every smile and every tear."He said information on children available for adoption in Kansas could be found at <a title="www.adoptkskids.org" href="http://www.adoptkskids.org/">www.adoptkskids.org</a>. Some children still on the list were there six years ago when Schumm and his wife initially became involved in foster care and adoption."So many kids are still waiting," he said.Gov. Sam Brownback decreed November as Kansas Adoption Month. On Nov. 19, several court jurisdictions in Kansas will finalize at least 100 adoptions to mark the declaration.Brownback and his wife, Mary, adopted two children from overseas. A son, Mark, celebrated his 14th birthday Monday."Adoption is fabulous," the governor said at the Statehouse. "It just brings a smile to my face every time I think about it. My hope is more families will step up."He said his family's decision to not adopt in Kansas reflected his trips while in Congress to orphanages in other countries, many of which didn't have a strong cultural tradition of adoption.In addition, the governor said he was aware of a U.S. family that struggled for six years to complete an adoption.Siedlecki, the top administrator at SRS, said adoptions through the state of Kansas were completed at little or no cost and were legally secure because parental rights had been severed.Kansas families who adopt children may be eligible for state or federal financial subsidies, he said. Funding is available for health care of adopted children through Medicaid and for college tuition for children adopted from state care after age 16.Siedlecki said the goal of SRS was to complete more than 800 adoptions in the current fiscal year ending in July. In the last fiscal year, the state finalized 761 adoptions. In the first three months of the year, 178 children have been adopted from state care in Kansas.Tim Carpenter can be reached at (785) 295-1158 or timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com.Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-7678217933017431412011-11-13T14:14:00.000-08:002011-11-13T14:16:44.335-08:00100,277 Kansas Children "Served" In Out Of Home Placement Since 1997The Kansas SRS website shows that there has been a total of 100,277 Kansas Children "Served" in Out Of Home Placement since 1997<br />The State Labels these seizures as "Foster Care Service Frequency"<br />Here is the link to that information:<br /><a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Pages/ProgramData.aspx#Federal%20Fiscal%20Year%20Adoptions%20Finalized">http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Pages/ProgramData.aspx#Federal%20Fiscal%20Year%20Adoptions%20Finalized</a><br /><br />FY2011 shows that the Kansas Child Population under the age of 18 years old is 695,712<br /><a href="http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/statefactsheets/2011/kansas.pdf">http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/statefactsheets/2011/kansas.pdf</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-52118051779123629792011-10-09T16:30:00.000-07:002011-10-09T16:42:08.907-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHlSlz7bNixJbeT7XAw96nKTHSWjzDKaU_EmOybe-5EY_zJpHOLjHFnZVCmhKjO01UI42xgEEihauOoJ3JVnEo8uacWK0b8cfqTOGT076-1z2pDij8UtqSIQdp6ieTVVoMZx868DhgtQ/s1600/foster+parents+key+words+oct+9th+2011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661638975565963794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 243px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHlSlz7bNixJbeT7XAw96nKTHSWjzDKaU_EmOybe-5EY_zJpHOLjHFnZVCmhKjO01UI42xgEEihauOoJ3JVnEo8uacWK0b8cfqTOGT076-1z2pDij8UtqSIQdp6ieTVVoMZx868DhgtQ/s320/foster+parents+key+words+oct+9th+2011.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#333399;">KEYWORDS:<br /><br /></span><span style="color:#333399;"></span><span style="color:#ff6600;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;">See the keywords people are writing that looked at this blog</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p></p><span style="color:#006600;">"Childrens EMCU Unit in Wichita KS is Corrupt Who Do I Tell"</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">"Death in Foster Care Kansas"</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">"Grandparents Rights in Kansas" </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">"Kansas Families Torn Apart by Foster Care"</span>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-41628095374450079332011-10-09T16:15:00.000-07:002011-10-09T16:17:40.829-07:00Kansas Grandmother Fighting For Ella Jo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7H8WkfI-5pBnIpv9n3GT0IEaUb7caAUimN2qcQd_eYS_KgHXJJ-AGeSbaiKLF9DGcxH3SC5F8Aq2yYXrpiUe2Sjvgdejr81Q_DNwUXc7Yx7f7dFyWHD0zlG0JKn7bDLSdHVJiNQXfBM/s1600/Ella+Jo.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5661635342481043346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 183px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7H8WkfI-5pBnIpv9n3GT0IEaUb7caAUimN2qcQd_eYS_KgHXJJ-AGeSbaiKLF9DGcxH3SC5F8Aq2yYXrpiUe2Sjvgdejr81Q_DNwUXc7Yx7f7dFyWHD0zlG0JKn7bDLSdHVJiNQXfBM/s320/Ella+Jo.JPG" border="0" /></a> 3 year old, Ella Jo is in the Kansas Foster Care System<br /><br />While in the care of the State, on Oct 4th, Ella Jo went into respitory failure and the family was called to be at her side. Ella Jo is still fighting but she needs to go back to her home to be with her family.<br /><br />""Ella Jo’s history of accidental & pathological fractures started when she was one year old. Ella is not able to assimilate the nutrients in her food, therefore has a weaken bone structure. The seizure medicine that Ella Jo had been on for half her life also deteriorates bone mass! The doctors failed to suggest Ella Jo needing Vitamin D & Calcium supplements to prevent this! One of many tragic complications that comes with Retts Syndrome. At one year of age her Paternal Grandmother slipped and fell with her and that broke Ella’s femur. A sibling at home, jumped over Ella lying in bed and accidentally landed on her shoulder, breaking the shoulder, and collar-bone. On another unfortunate occasion, a Home Physical Therapist was doing weight-bearing on her arm and accidentally broke the upper part of the arm. Yet another accident that took place at Ella Jo’s school that possibly injured her neck. During a bath, Ella Jo slipped out of loving hands and that placed her in the hospital with a Halo …… as a result of that….. into the hands of the State and a foster home.""<br /><br />Read more here: <a href="http://ellajoandgrandmapattibear.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog">http://ellajoandgrandmapattibear.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog</a><br /><br /><div></div>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-17584183370525929512011-09-19T18:45:00.000-07:002011-09-19T18:48:58.392-07:00Kansas Lt Gov Colyer Said The State Will Cut Medicaid $720 Million Over The Next Several Years<div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#000099;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">KANSAS NEEDS TO STOP DRUGGING LITTLE CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE AND THAT WILL NOT ONLY SAVE CHILDREN'S LIVES BUT SAVE THE STATE<br />MILLIONS OF DOLLARS!</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><p><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TrBdD8R4G0M" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe></p><br /><br /><p>Colyer: State must reform Medicaid<br /></p><br /><br /><p>Posted on Mon, Sep. 19, 2011<br /></p><br /><br /><p>TOPEKA — Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer today described a bleak future for the state's Medicaid program — unless reforms drive down costs and people begin making healthier lifestyle choices.<br />Without changes, rapidly growing costs will overwhelm the state and affect funding for things such as K-12 education.<br />Colyer said Medicaid, the health program for low-income residents, should do what some insurance companies do and reward patients who quit smoking, work their way out of obesity and take their medicine. And the 40-year-old program should work to transition users to private health insurance, he added.<br />"This (Medicaid) is the most complex thing I've seen in government," he said. "And we aren't going to fix it in one year."<br />Colyer's call for reform and improved services comes when federal funding is expected to decrease. Some say Colyer's descriptions of cutting costs and improving services are too rosy.<br />"I don't see how it can possibly work in any way, shape or form," said Sen. Roger Reitz, R-Manhattan.<br />He said he works with patients who need a lot of care. If they don't have adequate finances for proper care, they'll be in emergency rooms, which is part of the disaster the state is trying to avoid.<br />"You're never going to cut medical costs down, you know that," Reitz, who is a doctor, said to Colyer, who is also a doctor.<br />Colyer said that federal cuts to Medicaid announced today translate to roughly $720 million in reductions to Kansas over several years.<br />He said ideas gathered from more than 1,200 people in four public forums on Medicaid reform this summer — plus concepts used in other states — show Kansas needs to create a safety net for its neediest, a system that links outcomes to price, provides employers with incentives to hire people with disabilities and provides people to coordinate patients' care.<br />Reitz said there's no way the state can improve while drastically cutting funds without embellishing services.<br />"It won't happen; it can't happen," he said. "If it does, you're going to have people marching on the Statehouse, tearing the place apart, saying, 'We can't go on this way. Try something else.' "<br />Colyer disagreed.<br />"I believe economic forces do work and do force us into better patient care," he said. He cited laptop computers as an example, saying they were once thousands of dollars and now are cheaper and have better technology.<br />Colyer said the state can save money by having someone coordinate health care for patients with serious problems.<br />"If we can navigate them through, you can save money on not institutionalizing them," he said.<br />Reitz said he and other doctors already help their patients manage their care. </p><br /><br /><p><br />Reach Brent D. Wistrom at 785-296-3006 or <a href="mailto:bwistrom@wichitaeagle.com">bwistrom@wichitaeagle.com</a></p><br /><br /><p>Read more: <a style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/19/2023944/colyer-state-must-reform-medicaid.html#ixzz1YS7yVIXW">http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/19/2023944/colyer-state-must-reform-medicaid.html#ixzz1YS7yVIXW</a><br /></p>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-15541513311350008562011-09-18T13:04:00.000-07:002011-09-18T13:06:56.710-07:00Nola Foulston to retire as district attorneyPosted on Fri, Sep. 16, 2011<br /><br /><br />District Attorney Nola Foulston, who prosecuted Sedgwick County's most notorious criminals for nearly a quarter-century, has decided to retire."At some point in time, you have to say it's time to give someone else a chance," she told the Eagle in explaining her decision to leave office.In a letter she plans to share today with her staff, friends and colleagues, Foulston said she will enter private practice when her current term expires."After over 30 years in public service, I have made the decision to 'retire' at the end of my term as district attorney in January of 2013 and plan to return to the private practice of law at that time," she said in the letter. "I have had a wonderful experience as district attorney, and feel that it's time now for me to step down from this position and become a private citizen."Foulston said in an interview at her home that she had been thinking for some time about returning to private life. "It's kind of like being a football player," she said. "I don't want to play until my legs are broken or I can't work any more."Foulston, 60, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, but she said the disease is in remission and her health had nothing to do with her decision. She said she had no specific plans other than to resume the practice of law as a private citizen.She was first elected in 1988, and was never seriously challenged in her five bids for re-election.Foulston said she seriously considered not entering the 2008 race, but decided she had to run after Republican Mark Schoenhofer entered the contest. She said she was concerned about changes Schoenhofer might make in the office, which now has an $8 million annual budget and 130 employees, 55 of whom are lawyers. "I felt an obligation to keep the staff intact," she said.She won the election with about 55 percent of the vote.Foulston said a half-dozen of her top assistants were qualified to run the office, but to date only Deputy District Attorney Marc Bennett has expressed an interest in the job. Bennett, a Republican, is the only announced candidate in the race."Any of them could handle the reins of that office without a hitch, and that includes Marc," she said.Foulston said she has no plans to endorse any candidate, and said voters should have the only say in deciding who occupies the office during the upcoming term."You and I both know that hand-picked successors never go anywhere," she said.Before her first race in 1988, Foulston switched parties to become a Democrat, then criticized incumbent Republican District Attorney Clark Owens for his handling of two high-profile murder cases.The cases — the Dec. 30, 1987, slayings of Wichita accountant Phillip Fager and his two daughters, and the New Year's night murder that same week of Wichita State University student Alice Mayfield — both ended in not-guilty jury verdicts. Foulston campaigned on a promise to take high-profile cases into the courtroom herself. She won the election with 60 percent of the vote.In the 1992 election, Foulston defeated Republican challenger Clarence Holeman — a member of Owens' staff who had been fired by Foulston — by a ratio of more than 2-1. She ran unopposed in 1996, 2000 and 2004.Foulston said she has been approached by Democratic Party officials several times over the years about running for another office. She said she was asked often about running for the 4th District seat in Congress, which has been in Republican hands since 1994. She said she never had an interest in that job."I'm not a politician; I'm a prosecutor," she said.During her six terms in office, Foulston has twice appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. Both cases ended with the Court upholding 1994 Kansas laws by 5-4 votes. In June 2006, the Court upheld the state's death penalty. A year later, the Court upheld the state's Sexual Predator law, which allows for the indefinite confinement of some sex offenders for mental health treatment after they have served their criminal sentences.Both cases originated in Sedgwick County District Court.Foulston gained national attention in 2005 for her role in the prosecution of Dennis Rader, who pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder as he confessed to being the BTK serial killer. She also was in the national spotlight in the fall of 2002 as she prosecuted Reginald and Jonathan Carr, who were convicted and sentenced to death after a crime spree that left five dead.Nearly a decade earlier, in 1994, Foulston was the prosecutor in an equally troubling murder case — the July 30, 1990, abduction, rape and strangulation of 9-year-old Nancy Shoemaker.In those pre-capital punishment days, Doil Lane was convicted of Nancy's murder and given a Hard 40 prison sentence — a sentence of a minimum of 40 years without parole — which at the time was the maximum allowed under Kansas law.Foulston and her husband, Wichita lawyer Steve Foulston, have been married for about 29 years and have a son, Andrew, who is a senior at the University of Kansas. He is majoring in finance with a minor in Chinese, Foulston said, and has expressed no interest in becoming a lawyer.<br /><br /><br /><br />Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.Read more: <a style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/16/2018836/foulston-to-retire-as-da.html#ixzz1YKpyey9O">http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/16/2018836/foulston-to-retire-as-da.html#ixzz1YKpyey9O</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-61544048629895924402011-07-31T08:10:00.000-07:002011-07-31T08:15:19.578-07:00Kansas is placing toddlers in foster care for "truancy"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3Wz94GMclbTHM7OFWSG5UOVHLIR1R8ir-YgQy9Rfr-512fcRnSZwVH22VuB2dQ4pY69AyYcSiaBChAG7B5q7X-23zeWwKDV5wdAGRscrX9fX8jgP28ZXUO8hr0EghPaqpSVlfbXgP6M/s1600/FY2011+toddler+taken+for+truancy.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635534733822076642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3Wz94GMclbTHM7OFWSG5UOVHLIR1R8ir-YgQy9Rfr-512fcRnSZwVH22VuB2dQ4pY69AyYcSiaBChAG7B5q7X-23zeWwKDV5wdAGRscrX9fX8jgP28ZXUO8hr0EghPaqpSVlfbXgP6M/s320/FY2011+toddler+taken+for+truancy.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />FY2011 Child between the age of 1 and 3 in foster care for "truancy"<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbcZmlqLQLJirDruJE9-LaKQUvU-uDuNy2tANEkgfudXkvybA5KlMZ3qgrJC-oeMjCw98xwInj5pYbUMP9qwZZMbnGq60d6pvLfFWZ5HWGRgLRC_9jrzt7i_joj1S5kH9c7AeU0QEasA/s1600/Babies+taken+for+truancy.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635534408746803826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 162px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbcZmlqLQLJirDruJE9-LaKQUvU-uDuNy2tANEkgfudXkvybA5KlMZ3qgrJC-oeMjCw98xwInj5pYbUMP9qwZZMbnGq60d6pvLfFWZ5HWGRgLRC_9jrzt7i_joj1S5kH9c7AeU0QEasA/s320/Babies+taken+for+truancy.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />FY2010 Child between the age of 1 and 3 in foster care for "truancy"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />FY2011, Sedgwick County remained a leader for removing children from their families<br />Sedgwick County 479 children<br />Shawnee County 390 children<br />Johnson County 386 children<br />Wyandotte County 243 children<br /><a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/RemovalReasonByCountyFY2011.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/RemovalReasonByCountyFY2011.pdf</a><br /><br /><br />FY2011 Average Length of Stay and Number of Children Reunified<br />Kansas reunified 1,874 children, and the average length of stay in care for all children is 19.6 months<br />Sedgwick County, Region 5/Wichita reunified 247 children and the average length of stay in care for all children is 27.4 months<br /><a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/LengthofstayFY2011.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/LengthofstayFY2011.pdf</a><br /><br />FY2011 Percent Reunified<br />Kansas served 8,264 children, reunified 1,874 children, 22% were reunified<br />Sedgwick County served 1,453 children, reunified 247, 16% were reunified<br /><a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/OOHPChildrenServedSFY2011.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/OOHPChildrenServedSFY2011.pdf</a><br /><a href="http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/LengthofstayFY2011.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.srs.ks.gov/agency/cfs/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/LengthofstayFY2011.pdf</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-25713446383734795372011-07-31T07:36:00.000-07:002011-07-31T07:37:28.359-07:00Program has foster teens, sex offenders in same spotPosted on Sun, Jul. 31, 2011<br /><br />BY TIM POTTER<br /><br />The Wichita Eagle<br /><br />A state-funded residential program designed to teach young adults how to live safe, productive lives mixes 16-year old-girls in foster care with sex offenders in their 20s.<br />The program groups juvenile offenders — including registered sex offenders — with foster teens. Each person in the program lives alone in one of 15 apartments in a building on West University, near Kellogg and Seneca.<br />Dorothy Loyd, vice president for transitional living services at Ozanam Pathways, the nonprofit provider that operates the program, said Ozanam isn't the only provider that commingles offenders and foster teens. It occurs at programs across the state, Loyd said. Ozanam is following state policies, she said.<br />"If the program is guilty of anything," Loyd said, "it's for taking kids that nobody wants to work with."<br />The state says it is beginning to move to a system that separates juvenile offenders and foster teens at facilities.<br />Wichita police Deputy Chief Tom Stolz said he is concerned about the practice of grouping young people who have committed serious crimes with "extremely impressionable" young people in the state's care.<br />Stolz said that considering some of the youths face a "myriad of social problems" from being victims of child abuse and neglect, putting them into an environment with convicted "gang members, sex offenders and drug dealers" doesn't make sense.<br />"I just don't think that's good policy," he said.<br />Investigation<br />The Ozanam program came under scrutiny earlier this month after a former employee raised allegations that sex offenders living at the apartments have too much contact with foster teens at the property, that clients sometimes lack food and that some incidents aren't properly reported.<br />The allegations led to investigations by Wichita police and the state's Juvenile Justice Authority and Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.<br />No crimes or serious violations were found.<br />Loyd, the Ozanam vice president, said that "everybody and their brother has been down investigating... and we come back as clean as a whistle."<br />There have been reports of trouble at the property.<br />Police records show that from January 2008 to July 21 of this year, Wichita police recorded 142 incidents at the West University apartments — including reports of battery, assault, runaways, drug crimes and three alleged incidents of rape.<br />Between December 2009 and October 2010, police investigated three reports of rape there.<br />In the most recent rape case, in October 2010, the alleged victim was a 17-year-old girl, and the suspect was a 17-year-old boy. In a July 2010 case, the alleged victim was a 17-year-old foster girl, and the suspect was an 18-year-old male offender. And in a December 2009 case, the alleged victim was a 16-year-old foster girl, and the suspect was a 19-year-old man.<br />Charges weren't filed in the three cases, partly because the alleged victims weren't cooperative, police said.<br />Change will separate groups<br />The Juvenile Justice Authority, which has custody of offenders placed at the apartments, is moving toward a system where offenders and nonoffenders won't be grouped together.<br />In a July 1 e-mail, a JJA official told other officials that the new direction is "based on sound, evidence-based practices and research that supports the separation of juvenile offenders from the non-offending population."<br />In a statement to The Eagle on Thursday, JJA Commissioner Curtis Whitten said: "There has been an ongoing concern about the mingling of these populations, but the impetus of the new administration is enabling the Juvenile Justice Authority to move at a quicker pace toward resolving the situation."<br />SRS, which has custody of foster teens, says it supports the change.<br />For now, the change does not encompass the Wichita program on West University.<br />SRS says Ozanam Pathways, which is based in Kansas City, Mo., has served 98 youths in SRS custody at three Wichita locations since 2008.<br />Ozanam takes clients 16 to 23 years old.<br />JJA and SRS pay the nonprofit program $100 per day, per client to cover expenses including staffing, rent, food, clothing, furniture and linens, said Loyd, the Ozanam vice president.<br />Based on the former employee's complaints, a joint investigation by Wichita police and SRS began July 22. Police found no crimes that could be prosecuted and no lack of food at the University apartments, said Stolz, the deputy police chief.<br />Another investigation, conducted earlier this month by JJA, found that although registered sex offenders were living at the apartments, "there was no evidence... that these offenders were harming other youth placed there," a JJA report says.<br />The former employee asked The Eagle not to use his name, saying he fears being blacklisted within the social-service industry. He was recently laid off from his job as a life-skills coach and said it was because he raised concerns.<br />His allegations were echoed by a second former Ozanam employee who spoke to The Eagle. The second employee also asked that her name not be used, saying she feared being blacklisted.<br />Loyd, the Ozanam vice president, said she investigated the former employee's complaints and found them to be unfounded and found that policies were being followed.<br />She reiterated that Ozanam works with young people who have a variety of problems and who are difficult to place.<br />"For many of the foster care kids, our program is really their last option. There is really no other placement opportunity for them."<br />Some of the foster teens have been in more than 50 placements before they arrive at the Ozanam apartments, she said.<br />"It's hard for them to attach."<br />Loyd said it's up to the state agencies — JJA and SRS — to decide who gets referred to a transitional living program, which teaches youths how to live independently.<br />Juvenile sex offenders who receive proper treatment have a lower chance of committing a new sex crime than adult offenders, she said.<br />Concerns<br />In December 2009, while still working for Ozanam, the former employee sent an e-mail to a supervisor expressing concern that vulnerable teens were being housed around sex offenders.<br />"Here we have multiple S.O.' s (sex offenders) living in close proximity to underage girls, some of whom are not even in the system but are here because they come from a troubled background."<br />The supervisor responded with this e-mail: "Right now, the only plan is that they are not to be in each other's apartments or signing out together. Beyond that, I'm not sure what we can do. I too am definitely concerned and just try to be extra attentive to what is going on over there."<br />At the time, Ozanam was operating two transitional housing programs — the one on West University and one near First and Ridge Road. It was about to launch a third program at apartments on South Mission.<br />Since then, Ozanam has closed two of the three programs, leaving the University property as the only remaining transitional living facility it operates in Wichita.<br />The other two were closed because government finances led to fewer referrals, Loyd said.<br />According to the state offender registry, three sex offenders — all in their early 20s — are listed as living at the University apartments. The three were in their teens when they committed their crimes.<br />Ozanam doesn't tell foster teens living at the apartments that some of the people living in the other units are sex offenders, the former employee said.<br />Although each client lives alone in an apartment, they share a common lounge and hang out together outside, he said.<br />The clients have curfews as early as 6 p.m. Staff are supposed to monitor them around the clock with the help of video cameras. Rules forbid physical contact between clients.<br />"They're not supposed to be in each other's apartments, but it's a daily occurrence," the former employee said.<br />He said that "in theory, we can watch them, but in reality... they get past us all the time."<br />SRS said that it has "no evidence to support the allegations (of) widespread sex between youth."<br />Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.Read more: <a style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/07/31/1955545/program-has-foster-teens-sex-offenders.html#ixzz1Th4iylRc">http://www.kansas.com/2011/07/31/1955545/program-has-foster-teens-sex-offenders.html#ixzz1Th4iylRc</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-25280409914151037902011-07-10T09:17:00.000-07:002011-07-10T09:18:19.846-07:00SRS/CPS Lacks Integrity, Shut Them All DownAbout 150 attend meeting on SRS closure<br />By <a class="url fn" href="http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/scott_rothschild/">Scott Rothschild</a> — Lawrence Journal-World<br />July 9, 2011<br />If Gov. Sam Brownback's plan to shut down the Lawrence office of the<br />Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services goes into effect, it will harm many vulnerable Kansans, social workers and law enforcement officials said Saturday.<br />For example, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said police must have a social worker accompany them if they go into a school to interview an alleged victim of sexual abuse.<br />The decision by SRS Secretary Robert Siedlecki Jr. to shut down the Lawrence office will make it more difficult to get a social worker in these instances, Branson said.<br />"I'm just very fearful that we are going to miss a lot of people who are in need of care," Branson said. "We have children going through horrific instances in their lives, and we have small windows to go in and make a difference, and the governor and secretary have closed that window on us," he said.<br />He said without the timely availability of an SRS social worker, the child could face having to return to his or her abuser at the end of the school day before police could intervene.<br />Branson's comments were made during a meeting at the Lawrence Public Library that was attended by a packed crowd of about 150 people, many of whom had to stand or sit in adjacent rooms.<br />Those in attendance expressed anger and shock at the Brownback administration's decision announced July 1 to close nine SRS offices, with Lawrence being the largest one by far. The closures would take effect within three months. Siedlecki has said the 87 employees will be able to get jobs at other SRS offices.<br />Brownback and Siedlecki have said the closures are needed to save money during tight budget times, and that those receiving SRS services in Lawrence can continue to get assistance by accessing them online or traveling to offices in Topeka, Overland Park or Ottawa. Brownback has noted that Lawrence is served by several four-lane roads.<br />Many at the meeting said that was unrealistic.<br />Gayle Sigurdson of Lawrence said she thought the closure of SRS offices was intended to cut state spending by making it more difficult for people to get help.<br />She also said the way Siedlecki announced the closures without any public meetings to gain input was a "suspension of the Democratic process."<br />"These closures were made without public comment, or participation of our local legislators and without any formal appeals process," she said.<br />She said she feared Brownback's statement on Friday when he said he may consider options to the closures was "lip service."<br />The meeting was held by the Douglas County Democratic Party. Former SRS Secretary Robert Harder had been scheduled to speak several weeks ago prior to the announced closures.<br />Harder, who has held the position of SRS secretary the longest in state history, said the prevailing political climate at the Statehouse represented a departure from decades of bi-partisan support for social services.<br />Of the past legislative session, which produced massive cuts to social services, he said, "I would have to say, without question, it was absolutely the meanest, toughest session that I have observed in my 50 years," of being around Kansas politics.<br />He said the assertion that people could receive SRS services online was not plausible. Applications for medical assistance are not available online, and the application for cash assistance is 16 pages long, he said.<br />Harder added that social service advocates are not opposed to change but they want change in a careful, thought out way.<br />Steve Ruttinger of Lawrence said he was dismayed by the Brownback administration's layoffs of experienced staff at SRS and replacing them with those lacking experienced. "They profess this connection to God but there is nothing Christian about it," he said.<br />The Democratic members of the Douglas County legislative delegation urged the crowd to continue to contact Brownback's office to voice their disapproval and attend Monday's meeting at 7 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church to discuss ways to try to reverse the closure decision.<br />"People in government make mistakes from time to time and they need to be called on it, and this is a classic example," said House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence.<br /><a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/jul/09/about-150-attend-meeting-srs-closure/">http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/jul/09/about-150-attend-meeting-srs-closure/</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-14599882723068421262011-07-09T07:07:00.000-07:002011-07-09T07:10:35.216-07:00Kansas Foster Child, Girl was staying at shelter before she died<div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:x-small;"><span class="BodyCopy2"><span class="subhead"><br /><h3>Mother reports that her daughter, of Garden City, ran away from girls<br />home.</h3><br /><br /><div>Saturday, July 9, 2011<br /><br /><span class="byline2"><span style="font-size:+0;"><b>By Darcy Gray -<br />The Hutchinson News - <a href="mailto:dgray@hutchnews.com" jquery15207722708187319266="112"><span style="color:#77cc11;">dgray@hutchnews.com</span></a> </b></span></span><br /><span class="byline2"><span class="BodyCopy2">GREAT BEND - A 15-year-old girl whose body<br />was found Monday at a Great Bend home had recently been reported missing from a<br />local shelter for girls, police have confirmed.<br /><br />The Barton County Youth<br />Care Home, 2212 Forest Ave. in Great Bend, reported the girl missing July 1,<br />Great Bend Police Chief Dean Akings said Thursday.<br /></span></span><a href="http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/Great-Bend-death-follow--2"><span style="color:#888888;">http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/Great-Bend-death-follow--2</span></a><br />Although<br />Akings declined to release the girl's name, citing an ongoing investigation into<br />the suspicious death, The Garden City Telegram identified the girl as Jessica<br />Cheyanne Shearer of Garden City.<br /><br />Shearer's mother, Alida Potter of<br />Garden City, told The Telegram her daughter had been staying at the girls home<br />for a couple of months before running away.<br />Joseph J. Rykiel, 30, was<br />arrested Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder and aggravated indecent<br />liberties with a child. Akings said investigators are focusing on the suspected<br />aggravated indecent liberties, and formal charges against Rykiel were being<br />prepared late Thursday.<br />Jackie McHolland, 39, and his fiancee, Mary Coker,<br />27, told The News on Wednesday they have been renting a room in their basement<br />at 2509 Walnut to Rykiel since Feb. 23. They came home from out of town on the<br />Fourth of July to find police at their house and learn the girl had been found<br />dead in their basement.<br />Police were called to the home at 5:10 p.m. Monday on<br />the report of a female with respiratory problems, but when officers arrived,<br />they found the 15-year-old girl had died from "unknown medical causes,"<br />according to Akings.<br />McHolland said his prescription medication was found on<br />Rykiel, and the locked box he kept his prescription medications in, including<br />morphine, had been "pried open."<br />"She ran away, and somehow she met up with<br />this guy," Alida Potter, Shearer's mother, told The Telegram.<br />When contacted<br />by phone Thursday, an employee at Barton County Youth Care Inc. in Great Bend<br />declined to comment. The shelter offers level IV care to girls for the state of<br />Kansas, according to a 2009 annual report filed by the nonprofit organization.<br />Barton County Youth Care is licensed for in-home foster care, said Gary Brooks,<br />a former board member.<br />Kansas Department of Corrections records show Rykiel,<br />30, previously served time in prison for multiple convictions, including<br />aggravated robbery in 2002 in Labette County. He was previously paroled to Reno<br />County in 2007, violated parole and then was paroled out of state to Tennessee<br />in 2009 before his sentence expired Feb. 13.<br />Rykiel had been working for a<br />Great Bend concrete company. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/Great-Bend-death-follow--2"><span style="font-size:78%;color:#888888;">http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/Great-Bend-death-follow--2</span></a></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div></span></span></span></div>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-20196491292240167002011-07-09T05:04:00.000-07:002011-07-09T05:25:26.210-07:00Wichita, Kansas Judge rules for social worker in child's death<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEMaeS_XAOBLQQHLXmMzgFBJIswW19RnPJ0S1e7Bwf4fjq984DAh8_mEPe_fMzcnTcZTSDj5F6s81otgKyF64KvJQuGer6WS_fpBb2EF_StrtouKSLzF0NkcvSaBy7eczfi_mmHms3B0/s1600/Brooklyn.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471927269448404946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 224px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEMaeS_XAOBLQQHLXmMzgFBJIswW19RnPJ0S1e7Bwf4fjq984DAh8_mEPe_fMzcnTcZTSDj5F6s81otgKyF64KvJQuGer6WS_fpBb2EF_StrtouKSLzF0NkcvSaBy7eczfi_mmHms3B0/s400/Brooklyn.bmp" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br /><br /><br />><br /><br /><br /><style></style><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEMaeS_XAOBLQQHLXmMzgFBJIswW19RnPJ0S1e7Bwf4fjq984DAh8_mEPe_fMzcnTcZTSDj5F6s81otgKyF64KvJQuGer6WS_fpBb2EF_StrtouKSLzF0NkcvSaBy7eczfi_mmHms3B0/s1600/Brooklyn.bmp"></a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Judge rules for social worker in child's death</span><br /><br />The Associated Press<br />WICHITA, Kan. - A federal judge in Wichita has ruled in favor of a Kansas social worker accused of failing to protect a toddler who was beaten to death by her father's girlfriend.<br />U.S. District Judge Monti Belot ruled Thursday that the civil lawsuit filed by the child's grandparents, Larry and Mary Crosetto, failed to show that social worker Linda Gillen was negligent in not protecting the child despite complaints about abuse.<br />The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services argued that Gillen had "no duty to intervene" after she investigated a report claiming abuse and neglect of the 23-month-old Coffeyville girl, who died in 2008. The civil lawsuit did not name SRS as a defendant.<br />The child's father's girlfriend, Melissa Wells, has been sentenced to life in prison in the child's death.<br />Read more: <a style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/07/08/1925678/judge-rules-for-social-worker.html#ixzz1Rbn7bBsa">http://www.kansas.com/2011/07/08/1925678/judge-rules-for-social-worker.html#ixzz1Rbn7bBsa</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-30005367378758074502011-07-07T15:32:00.000-07:002011-07-07T15:36:36.066-07:00PBS The Watch List: The medication of foster childrenThe Watch List: The medication of foster children<br />By <a class="url fn n" title="View all posts by Shoshana Guy" href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/author/guys">Shoshana Guy</a> January 7, 2011<br /><br />Nearly one in every 10 American children is diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Often the treatment prescribed is medication, and often the medication is heavy-duty — so-called antipsychotic drugs.<br />In this report, you’ll see that foster care children are prescribed drugs at a rate much greater than that of other kids. Concern over their well-being — not to mention the amount it costs to treat them — has prompted the Government Accountability Office to investigate potentially abusive prescribing practices in America’s state foster care systems. The GAO findings are expected to come out later this year.<br />Need to Know correspondent Shoshana Guy went to Texas to investigate overuse of psychotropic drugs in foster children, as well as that state’s efforts at reform<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-the-watch-list-the-medication-of-foster-children/6232/">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-the-watch-list-the-medication-of-foster-children/6232/</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-54012429315466861342011-06-19T09:03:00.000-07:002011-06-19T09:07:07.195-07:00What happened to Adam Herrman the unresolved question<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIMEHhhabDz03zrQ_snrSIyPt98R3ezBeSNPhgDnbUv8gf5GcB0eOBcQvPqo0rPL2m8PAQTMKvrI9bioL7ipVbdYSAAlVFgjr-uOwXKzmN_F4tFC8mHCaKa_XiVmLDVsjJslmYaRfmN4/s1600/Adam+aka+Irvin+Groeninger+III.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619962592957364674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 195px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIMEHhhabDz03zrQ_snrSIyPt98R3ezBeSNPhgDnbUv8gf5GcB0eOBcQvPqo0rPL2m8PAQTMKvrI9bioL7ipVbdYSAAlVFgjr-uOwXKzmN_F4tFC8mHCaKa_XiVmLDVsjJslmYaRfmN4/s320/Adam+aka+Irvin+Groeninger+III.png" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Sunday, June 19, 2011<br /><a name="6799954954927009401"></a><br /><a href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/17/1896760/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html">http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/17/1896760/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html</a><a href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/17/1896562/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html">http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/17/1896562/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html</a><br />Posted on Fri, Jun. 17, 2011</div><br /><br /><div>What happened to Adam Herrman the unresolved question<br />BY TIM POTTER</div><br /><div><br />The Wichita Eagle</div><br /><div><br />Anyone with information about Adam Herrman's disappearance can provide tips to Butler County sheriff's investigators by e-mailing crimetips@bucoks.com or calling 316-322-8817 or 866-484-5924.</div><br /><div>EL DORADO — When Doug and Valerie Herrman pleaded guilty Friday to felony theft — for continuing to accept a state subsidy to help them care for their adoptive son after he vanished — it resolved part of the case surrounding the missing boy.Unresolved is the question of what happened to Adam Herrman, the 11-year-old who disappeared without a trace from the Herrmans' Towanda mobile home in May 1999.Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet said Friday, after the Herrmans pleaded guilty to the theft charge, that he has concluded one thing about the disappearance: "Did he (Adam) walk away? No, he didn't walk away. Something happened to that boy in that trailer in Towanda, Kansas, and Doug and Valerie Herrman know."Herzet, who was the lead investigator on the disappearance case before becoming sheriff earlier this year, said, "I'm still focused on working this case as a homicide. The Herrmans still are, in my eyes, suspects, and we're going to continue to work the case as the leads come in, and I hope we can resolve the case in the very near future and arrests are made."The way he views it, Herzet said, is "any homicide case is life-touching," and more so when it involves a child."In your heart, you know something's happened to this boy," he said.It has now been more than two years since Butler County sheriff's detectives learned of Adam's disappearance and began investigating it. They've searched for his remains along riverbanks, dug up the Herrmans' former mobile home lot, interviewed person after person, chased leads, amassed boxes of documents, and still found no trace of Adam. The Herrmans have not been charged with harming Adam, and Valerie Herrman has denied allegations from some of her close relatives that she abused the boy.Mike Brown, Doug Herrman's attorney in the theft case, said when told of the sheriff's comments, "I'm not in position to comment." Chris Pate, Valerie Herrman's attorney in the theft case, declined to comment.In Butler County District Court on Friday, Doug Herrman, 56, and Valerie Herrman, 54, each pleaded guilty to a felony charge that they collected an adoption subsidy for their son's care after he vanished.The couple had been scheduled to face a three-day trial on the theft charge next week.The charge alleged a scheme by which they continued to collect a monthly adoption subsidy for Adam, who the county attorney has said is the subject of an open missing person's investigation.Authorities didn't learn that he was missing until late 2008, when his older, adoptive sister came forward to share concerns about him.Under a plea agreement, the Herrmans pleaded guilty to the same amended charge they had been facing.The agreement recommends 12 months of probation, but it will be up to the judge to determine the sentence.Judge David Ricke said that depending on the extent of any criminal history the Herrmans might have, they could face from five to 17 months in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 when they are sentenced on Aug. 1.The agreement also calls for the Herrmans to pay $15,488 in restitution, the amount they pleaded guilty to wrongly accepting.Also under the agreement, they would each pay a $2,500 fine.The charge alleged that the Herrmans accepted the subsidy from November 2003 until July 8, 2005, a month after Adam would have turned 18.When Ricke asked Doug Herrman what he did to be guilty of the charge, Herrman responded: "I kept money that I was not entitled to."Herrman said he and his wife adopted Adam in 1993 and that he lived with them until May 1999, when he disappeared. He had been in home school.The Herrmans have previously said that Adam ran away from their Towanda home after Valerie Herrman spanked him and that they didn't report him missing because they feared it would cause them to lose custody of him and their other children.Doug Herrman told the judge that the adoption subsidy from the state was to help him and his wife care for Adam. He described the boy as a "special needs" child who had "mental problems."Doug Herrman admitted that the couple was receiving the subsidy although Adam was no longer living with them or in their care. Herrman also admitted that the couple didn't report to the state that Adam was missing.When Ricke asked Doug Herrman where Adam could have been in the years after he disappeared, Herrman said he didn't know.The couple initially received a $304 monthly subsidy for Adam, which grew to $704 monthly by the period from 2003 to 2005 for which the couple were charged, Doug Herrman said.Under the original theft charges, the couple had been accused of wrongly collecting $52,800 between May 1, 1999, and July 8, 2005. But the charges were amended to accuse them of taking $15,488 from November 2003 until July 8, 2005, when the couple was living in Rose Hill. The evidence for the smaller amount and the shorter time frame was stronger than the evidence for the higher amount and the longer time frame, said the prosecutor, Butler County Attorney Darrin Devinney.The Herrmans told Ricke they are living in Grove, Okla., and working for a Tyson chicken plant. Doug Herrman said he works in production; Valerie Herrman said she works as a wing packer.After the hearing, the Herrmans and their attorneys offered no comment. The couple held hands as they walked to their car, followed by news crews.Outside the courthouse, Devinney told reporters that he couldn't comment much on Adam's disappearance but said he considers the Herrmans to be suspects in their son's disappearance. Devinney was appointed county attorney and sworn in earlier this year after his predecessor, Jan Satterfield, was elected to a judgeship. Satterfield also has said she considered the couple suspects in the missing person's case.Devinney said he considers the disappearance case to be a priority as much as Satterfield did, "if not more."<br /><br /></div><br /><div>Read more: <a style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/17/1896562/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html#ixzz1PjPkTnnx">http://www.kansas.com/2011/06/17/1896562/adoptive-parents-of-missing-boy.html#ixzz1PjPkTnnx</a> </div>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-15210968514340097112011-06-12T16:28:00.000-07:002011-06-12T16:31:59.458-07:00Sedgwick County DA, Nola Foulston, calls parents "whiny" and said they need to quit "bitc#(&@"<object id="mp3playerdarksmallv3" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version="" height="25" width="210" align="middle" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="5556"><param name="_cy" value="661"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://changingkansas.podbean.com/mf/play/7pibri/PachydermFoulston2011-06-03WhinyQuitBitchingmp3.mp3&autoStart=no"><param name="Src" value="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://changingkansas.podbean.com/mf/play/7pibri/PachydermFoulston2011-06-03WhinyQuitBitchingmp3.mp3&autoStart=no"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="0"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="NoScale"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value="FFFFFF"><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="false"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerdarksmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://changingkansas.podbean.com/mf/play/7pibri/PachydermFoulston2011-06-03WhinyQuitBitchingmp3.mp3&autoStart=no" quality="high" width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerdarksmallv3" align="middle" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /> </object><br /><br /><a style="PADDING-LEFT: 41px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: #2da274; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; FONT-FAMILY: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.podbean.com/">Podcast Powered By Podbean</a>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-61565630345983474452011-06-04T08:27:00.000-07:002011-06-04T08:28:22.240-07:00Leroy Stockemer, Kansas Judicial System Is Corrupt<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3YpKDrILDtU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-30971140826035037322011-06-04T08:26:00.000-07:002011-06-04T08:27:34.255-07:00Joan Jordan talks about parental rights at Blue Ribbon Commission meeting<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IwwxkFQ5EN8" frameborder="0" width="560" height="349"></iframe>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-75019573011396488882011-06-04T08:25:00.000-07:002011-06-04T08:26:32.821-07:00“I’m here to tell the State of Kansas that if the masses only knew how corrupt SRS is, we would see a revolution"<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QPl5K33njA4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-46116694571011372262011-05-30T08:33:00.000-07:002011-05-30T08:34:16.650-07:00Bambi Hazen, CPS Fraud Upon The Court<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EyR9LjZl7tc" frameborder="0" width="560" height="349"></iframe><br /><br />Bambi Hazen spoke before the Blue Ribbon Commission May 26th, 2011, CPS Wrongful Removal, Fraud Upon The CourtKansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-37642393520101563992011-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:002011-05-29T08:12:06.568-07:00Marlene Jones Says CPS Wrongful Removal Costs Tax Payers<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wVMT6UA59as" frameborder="0" width="560" height="349"></iframe><br /><br /><br />Marlene Jones spoke before the Blue Ribbon Commission,<br />Thur May 26th, 2011, CPS Wrongful Removal Costs Tax PayersKansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-77650204018763994292011-04-01T14:37:00.001-07:002011-04-01T14:37:37.768-07:00Kansas Tax Payers Fund Child Trafficking<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7flgz77xf4k" frameborder="0" width="480" height="390"></iframe>Kansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039069245644824253.post-19919108039232001712011-03-13T08:04:00.000-07:002011-03-13T08:06:41.819-07:00KS Asst Dir CFS Sue McKenna Misleads Public<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aJGHYVLhSdw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Kansas Assistant Director of Children and Family Services, Roberta Sue McKenna, participated in a panel discussion which included Kansas Attorney/Guardian Ad Litems, and Judges. This was titled "KTWU's Abused, Neglected, Protected: When Children Go to Court" which was produced by nonprofit Washburn University. <br />The discussion aired on KPTS Channel 8 on Tuesday Feb 22, 2011<br /><br />Roberta Sue McKenna works directly under Tanya Keys who is the Director of Children and Family Services. <br />Why is McKenna misleading the public on time spent in care and making foster care look like a walk in the park? <br /><br />McKenna said, "64% go home within 12 months.. another substantial percentage go home in less than two years. So most of the children who are removed from their parents custody return to their parents custody..... <br />(Regarding time spent in care)...less than 12 months.. Just think, if we could all remember how long it took to get to Christmas. How much time there was between birthdays..."<br /><br /><br />FACTS: The number of Kansas children served in Out of Home Placement in FY2010 was 8,275<br />The number of Kansas children reunified in FY2010 was 1,720<br />The total percentage of children reunified in FY2010 was 20%...NOT 64% as McKenna said.<br /><br />FACTS: Kansas children average length of time in care FY2010 was 19.4 months<br />Sedgwick County children average length of time in care FY2010 was 30.7 monthsKansas CPS Post Audithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17389427371191709217noreply@blogger.com0