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Monitoring report: KDHE early‑childhood licensing IT project in caution for cost and schedule
Summary
Quarterly monitoring of the KDHE/Department for Children and Families early‑childhood data integration project found the contract recast and schedule delays have moved the project into a caution status for cost and schedule; scope and security showed fewer documented defects but security deliverables lacked formal artifacts.
Katrin Osterhaus of the Legislative Division of Post Audit briefed the committee on ongoing monitoring of the Early Childhood Data Integration and System Enhancement project, a KDHE and Department for Children and Families collaboration to replace an outdated child‑care licensing system.
Background and current status
KDHE signed a $4.3 million systems‑as‑a‑service contract in January 2024. The project covers licensing, inspections, background checks, renewals and complaints for both agencies’ licensing functions. PDIA monitoring is performed quarterly; the second‑quarter status showed the project in "caution" for both cost and schedule.
Cost and change requests
The project’s revised total estimate now exceeds the $5 million threshold used for monitoring by about $50,000, driven in part by eight approved change requests totaling about $600,000. KDHE has paid approximately $1.1 million through June 30. Because schedule slippage increases oversight and monitoring costs charged by the Kansas Information Technology Office (KITO), estimated monitoring fees add to the project’s total cost.
Schedule and scope impacts
The project has been recast once already and the parties agreed to revise the schedule again after the second quarter because several tasks missed deadlines and one important interface had not begun development. The agency and vendor had not finalized the revised schedule by the end of the monitoring quarter; the earlier revised completion date was March 2026 and the monitoring team expects that to move further out.
Security and reporting
Katrin told the committee that scope and security appear relatively satisfactory but noted a weakness in security documentation: discussions are occurring, but the project lacks formal artifacts or deliverables to demonstrate security testing and controls. The monitoring memo also flagged persistent problems with the KITO project tracking system (CARS), where users sometimes encounter broken links or outdated data.
Committee takeaways
Committee members asked whether key schedule and scope changes were driven by the 2025 legislature’s creation of the Office of Early Childhood (House Bill 2025); Katrin confirmed a significant change request was tied to that statutory change and another related change request was pending. Members noted the cost threshold breach and urged improved scoping, formal security artifacts, and timelier KITO reporting.
Ending
LPA will continue quarterly monitoring and flagged the need for formal security deliverables and a finalized revised schedule before the committee’s next monitoring report.
