Kansas committee hears DCF data on mandatory reporting; officials describe 70,940 reports and training program

A Kansas House committee held an informational briefing on mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect, hearing that the Department for Children and Families (DCF) received 70,940 reports in the most recent year and that roughly two-thirds of those reports were received through DCF’s online portal.

Deputy Secretary Tonya Keyes of the Department for Children and Families told the committee that about two-thirds of the nearly 71,000 reports were submitted online, roughly one-third by telephone, and about 5% by fax. “We received last year about 70,000 reports,” Keyes said, later specifying the figure as 70,940. She said about 68% of reports came from mandated reporters and that education-related reporters represented the largest share within that group.

The committee’s overview placed several numbers and explanations up front: Keyes said DCF assigns roughly half of incoming reports for follow-up in the field (the committee was given an assigned-report count of about 35,253). Of assigned reports, DCF staff told members about the casework outcomes and processes: roughly three-quarters of assigned reports were forwarded for an investigation or assessment, and about 2,500 children entered foster care in the year covered by the presentation.

Why it matters: Committee members and witnesses framed the volume, assignment rates and the low proportion of substantiated findings as central to policy questions. Deputy Secretary Keyes described how reports move from intake to local offices, how the Kansas Protection Report Center operates 24/7, and how the agency uses a verification number to confirm to mandated reporters that a submission was received.

Officials described who the law lists…