The Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund voted to approve the recommended slate of Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) grant awards at its August meeting and authorized staff to implement pro rata reductions to award amounts if the state's federal CBCAP allocation is smaller than the proposed slate.

Melissa Schonberger, cabinet staff, told members the CBCAP program is a federal funding stream administered by the cabinet and that this year's federal appropriation is expected to be lower than last year. The cabinet received 18 applications requesting about $3.2 million while staff recommended a slate totaling $1,236,897.70 — roughly 20 percent below the previous year's award of about $1.5 million — as a conservative estimate while awaiting the federal award notice. Schonberger said, “We will not issue any of the official grant award documents, the legal agreements for signature until and unless we receive our federal award notice.”

Board members asked about program history and outcomes. Representative Christy Williams asked if there was evidence the grants improved child safety and family stability; Schonberger and staff cited a cabinet/District of Children and Families (DCF) analysis published in the cabinet's 2024 annual report that matched program participation to foster-care outcomes and reported a lower likelihood of removal. Schonberger said the evaluation “identified a 28% less likelihood that children are removed into foster care.”

Because the federal award was uncertain, Dr. Tara Wallace offered a friendly amendment to the approval motion to allow a pro rata reduction with an assessment of whether individual projects could remain viable. Lietta Felter (motion maker) and Dave Younger (second) accepted the amendment. The amended motion passed on a roll-call vote; recorded ayes included Dave Younger, Representative Laura Williams, Representative Christy Williams, Representative Suzanne Weichel, Dr. Tara Wallace, Senator Sykes, Tabitha Rosproy, Dr. Lietta Felter, Senator Renee Erickson, Senator Tory Marie Blue and Chair Don Heinemann.

Staff guidance and next steps: Schonberger said staff will wait to receive the federal award notice (likely mid-September), then confirm whether pro rata reductions are needed. If reductions are small, staff requested authority to make percentage adjustments and report back to the board; if an individual project cannot operate under a reduced award amount, staff said they would return to the board and could call a special meeting.

Distinguishing discussion vs. decision: Board discussion included questions about the RFP process, technical assistance (29 requests and about four hours of TA), the number of applicants (18) and staff rationale for recommending mostly existing grantees to avoid service disruptions. The formal decision was the board's approval of the recommended slate with the added authorization for pro rata reductions contingent on viability.

Budget and program context: Schonberger noted the recommended slate reflects a requirement that the state fund a statewide prevention program and that line consumed a significant portion of the total award. Staff recommended mostly flat funding for returning grantees with some reductions in specific line items to preserve broader grant distribution.

Implementation risk: The grants are contingent on the federal CBCAP award amount; staff said they would not finalize legal agreements until the federal notice is received.