Inside Kansas' Protection Report Center: 71,000 reports a year, nearly half assigned for field response

Topeka, Kan. — Deputy Secretary Tanya Keyes gave the Joint Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight a detailed walkthrough June 2 of how Kansas handles child-protection reports, saying the Kansas Protection Report Center (KPRC) receives roughly 71,000 child reports a year and assigns about 48% for further assessment.

Key data and procedures Keyes presented: - Intake volume and method: KPRC receives roughly 71,000 reports annually; more than two-thirds arrive via the online portal. Educators are the single most frequent mandatory reporters. - Assignment rates and reasons: About 48% of reports (roughly 35,000 in FY24) were assigned to regional child-protection specialists for an in-field response; the most frequent assignment categories were family-in-need assessments (about 30% of assigned reports) and neglect allegations (about 25% of assigned reports). - Response time windows: Current policy sets three response bands: same-day, 72-hour and up to seven working days for family-in-need assessments (with modifications for infants or law-enforcement protective custody situations). Starting July 1, the department will add a 24-hour contact requirement in specified circumstances. - Findings and federal reporting: State policy requires case findings be completed within 30 working days when abuse or neglect is alleged (with some exceptions, e.g., awaiting law-enforcement records). Kansas records three possible administrative findings: substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unable to locate. Keyes told the committee Kansas’ substantiated rate is about 4% of allegations; she emphasized substantiation places a name on the state’s central registry and triggers appeal rights. - Workforce and caseloads: Kansas employs roughly 330 protection specialists and about 60 supervisors statewide; Keyes said supervisors average roughly one to five specialists. The department’s target is to keep new assigned-case numbers at or below 14 per specialist per month; managers said they have mostly met the goal this fiscal year but noted peak months and regional differences.

What the committee asked: Members raised questions about whether KPRC can give reporters faster feedback and whether the system records the pathway of every removal (statutory removal, ex parte court order, or police protective custody). Keyes said reporters who request notice of the initial assessment decision (assigned or not assigned) do receive email notification; however the department does not share confidential case findings (substantiated/unsubstantiated) with reporters. On the pathway question she said federal data track removals but do not reliably indicate whether a child entered care via emergency protective custody or an ex parte court order in a standardized way; parsing that requires state- and county-level record checks.

Why it matters: Keyes’ briefing is the committee’s most granular public accounting of how many Kansans contact child-protection services, how many of those contacts spur an in-field response, and how the department triages immediate safety, lasting safety and service referrals.

Sources and attribution: Remarks, slides and Q&A with Deputy Secretary Tanya Keyes, Department for Children and Families; written materials provided to the committee.