Board updates on licensing backlogs, new case system and rising direct emails to members

Kansas Board of Nursing staff told commissioners on June 11 they are implementing a two‑phase modernization of licensing and case-management systems while contending with an unusual volume of applicants and direct emails sent to board members and staff.

Staff reported Phase 2 work on an investigative and discipline system called Evoke (Evoque/Evoke was the name used by staff) and an overhaul of the public-facing eGUP license portal. One staff member said the vendor was on-site to build interfaces and that the agencies expect the investigation system testing and portal upgrades to move toward a potential fall completion. "We are now on phase 2 where we're developing the investigative and discipline system that's called Evoke," said a staff member during the staff report.

Staff described that a separate internal system — "my license office, by System Automation" — is also moving to a cloud platform, a change that staff said will require a significant lift and will be coordinated with the finance committee and the legislature's timelines.

At the same time, licensing staff told the board that members and staff are receiving substantially more direct emails and phone calls from applicants, employers and elected officials trying to speed individual license reviews. "I noticed that in my inbox, I had more emails than I've ever had in my entire tenure here, and they were directed to us individually," said Ray, a licensing staff member. Ray urged board members to refer case-specific inquiries to the executive administrator. "We are not privy to individual cases, personal situations, etcetera. We have all these processes in place for a reason," Ray said.

Board members agreed and encouraged a consistent approach: forward external licensing inquiries to the executive administrator, who will route them to the appropriate staff. Members also discussed practical outreach, including a public video and clearer website materials to explain application timelines and document requirements to applicants and employers.

Staff provided performance benchmarks: applications that require only standard review are being handled with a target seven‑to‑10‑day turnaround; files that require legal or investigative review take longer — staff reported an average of about 27 days for legally complex cases, with much of that waiting for applicants to produce documents. The board's staff report also described an ongoing effort to improve open-records processing and to finalize an online case portal for records requests.

The board did not adopt a formal policy during the session, but members and staff said they would implement process adjustments and better communications to reduce direct outreach to board members and to set clearer expectations for applicants and employers. Staff also said they would continue to report progress on the Evoke implementation, licensing portal upgrades and the planned cybersecurity audit tied to the systems migration.