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DCF outlines child-welfare priorities; proposes shorter secure-care stays and changes to neglect rules
Summary
Department for Children and Families Secretary Laura Howard told the Committee on Social Services Budget that DCF will introduce three child-welfare bills next week: reduce authorized secure-care stays from 60 to 45 days, shorten time frames for permanency hearings, and revise neglect definitions to avoid separating families solely for poverty.
At a Committee on Social Services Budget hearing, Secretary Laura Howard of the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) gave an overview of the agency’s child-welfare work and said DCF plans to introduce three bills next week aimed at shortening the time children spend in restrictive settings and accelerating permanency reviews.
Howard said DCF’s mission is “protecting children, strengthening families, and promoting adult self sufficiency.” She told the committee that prevention and protection—DCF’s child welfare services—are the largest portion of the agency’s state-funded spending. The department emphasized expanded front-end prevention services implemented after the Family First Act and said those services have helped reduce foster-care entries.
Howard listed three legislative priorities the department expects to file next week. First, DCF will seek to reduce the…
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