Committee approves requests for three child-welfare bill drafts on secure care, permanency hearings and neglect

The House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care approved three committee-sponsored bill-draft requests introduced by Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard during the meeting.

"I have 3 bill drafts to request for introduction," Secretary Laura Howard said. She presented the first requested draft as RS 78, described as a bill concerning minors that would reduce the number of days a court may place a child in secure care.

She also presented a draft to change the schedule for permanency reviews, proposing to shorten the interval between permanency hearings from every 12 months to every 9 months. The final requested draft, RS 80, would amend the definition of neglect in the Kansas Code for Care of Children and include a provision explicitly prohibiting removal of a child solely because the child's family lacks financial resources.

For each request the chair asked if there were questions or objections; committee members registered no objections and the chair recorded the requests for drafting.

Outcomes and next steps: the committee accepted the three draft requests for preparation by legislative staff. No formal roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript; committee members were asked for objections and none were raised on the record. The department indicated it will work with legislative staff on statutory language and follow-up briefings as the drafts are prepared.

The items were presented in the context of a broader briefing on the state of child welfare and the department's legislative priorities. Committee members asked clarifying questions during and after the presentation and committee staff indicated bills would be assigned for consideration in the coming week.