HB 2075 Implementation
The 2025 Legislature passed HB 2075, requiring the Secretary for Children and Families to respond within 24 hours of receipt of a referral from a law enforcement agency that a child may be a victim of abuse or neglect. This response includes contacting the persons who are subject to the report made by law enforcement and providing a status update to the referring law enforcement agency.
At the August 2025 meeting of the Joint Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight, the Department for Children and Families (DCF) regional directors and a representative of Kansas law enforcement agencies provided an update on the implementation of HB 2075.
DCF regional directors emphasized the benefits of enhanced communication and information sharing between law enforcement agencies and DCF regional offices. While some initial challenges emerged with implementing the new policy, particularly around ensuring weekend and holiday coverage, each region stated it is proactively developing solutions. Strategies include hiring part-time staff, using voluntary sign-ups, and scheduling rotations to ensure 24-hour follow-up coverage. Directors shared positive outcomes, such as children remaining safely at home with DCF-provided wraparound services, thereby avoiding unnecessary trauma from police protective custody. One director did note an instance where a regional office received a large backlog of police reports, some over a month old. The director commented that this would be an educational opportunity to resolve the issue.
The representative of law enforcement agencies expressed strong support for DCF’s implementation of HB 2075. The representative praised the agency’s collaborative efforts, including in-person and virtual town halls for law enforcement and community members. Based on a survey of chiefs of police and sheriffs, all but one gave positive feedback. This dissenter was personally encouraged to better engage with their DCF regional counterpart. Lastly, the representative expressed excitement for the new online training developed jointly by DCF and the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center.
Executive Order No. 25-01
The federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 established tax-advantaged savings accounts designed to allow individuals with disabilities to save money without jeopardizing their eligibility for other benefit programs such as Medicaid. These ABLE accounts can hold various federal cash benefits including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Administration (SSA) survivor benefits, and Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
Despite the intent of the ABLE Act to promote long-term financial security for individuals with disabilities, it remained a longstanding and widespread practice for states, including Kansas, to act as representative payees of children in foster care, and collect federal benefits on behalf of eligible children. These funds were then used to offset the cost of foster care—an approach that was historically accepted under the rationale that the benefits were being used for the immediate needs of the child.
However, this practice has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Critics argue that these funds should be preserved for the child’s future needs and transition to adulthood, rather than used to reimburse the state for foster care costs.
In response, there has been growing national momentum for reform, including Kansas Executive Order 25-01, issued on January 10, 2025. Among other provisions, the order seeks to ensure that federal cash benefits received by children in foster care remain with the child, rather than being diverted to cover foster care maintenance payments.
However, implementing this policy change is projected to have significant fiscal implications to the state budget. Specifically, it is estimated that the shift will increase the State General Fund (SGF) share of foster care maintenance payments by approximately $8.0 to $9.0 million annually. This reflects the additional cost the state will bear by no longer using children’s federal benefits to offset foster care expenses.
Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System Update
In the 1990s, the federal government introduced SACWIS (Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System). SACWIS is a federally funded framework designed to support child welfare case management services under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. Kansas, however, did not receive federal certification for its case management system at the time and therefore was ineligible for the enhanced federal matching funds for system development. In 2016, the federal government published the final rule for CCWIS (Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System), a modernized version of SACWIS. This updated the federal regulation framework for the design, development, and operation of a child welfare information system eligible for Title IV-E funding. Since then, Kansas has been working toward compliance and participation in CCWIS.
The Kansas CCWIS aims to consolidate multiple legacy systems into a single, integrated platform that meets the CCWIS federal standards. The project is expected to cost a total of $100 million over the estimated four-year development period, with approximately 50 percent of the total cost coming from the SGF. Initially, the agency was allocated $2 million SGF annually for the project. Subsequently, as bids for the work were received, the 2024 Legislature approved an increase of $8.5 million SGF increase per year to the project’s base budget. As of state fiscal year (SFY) 2026, the agency receives $10.6 million SGF as a part of their base budget for the CCWIS project.
In July 2025, DCF announced the awarding of contracts for the CCWIS project. The largest of these is the Design, Development, and Implementation (DDI) contract, valued at $44 million, which was awarded to RedMane Technology, LLC., a Chicago-based firm selected through the competitive procurement process. DCF states this is a four-year contract with three 36-month optional renewals, if needed.
Two additional contracts were also awarded:
- Maximus US Services, Inc. received a $2.1 million contract to serve as the Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) vendor. DCF states that this will expire at the end of SFY 2029; and
- CSG Government Solutions was awarded $4.7 million to provide quality assurance services throughout the duration of the project. DCF states this is a three-year contract with five one-year renewals, if needed.
The 2025 Legislature deleted approximately $26.8 million in reappropriated funds from DCF. According to the agency, these funds represented a savings accumulated over time across multiple programs and were intended to support the CCWIS contract. However, the agency was unable to encumber the funds prior to their deletion, as the final CCWIS contracts had not been signed. Now that the contracts have been finalized, the agency is advocating to reappropriate approximately $7.7 million SGF agency-wide savings from SFY 2025 to SFY 2027 to fulfill obligations under the signed contracts.
Foster Care, By the Numbers
DCF reports Kansas has had a 25 percent decline of children in foster care since 2019 (7,588 in SFY 2019 to 5,690 in SFY 2025). Additionally, fewer children entered foster care in SFY 2025, a total of 2,473 children in SFY 2025 versus a high of 4,212 children in SFY 2018. DCF credits the State’s investment in preventative efforts to keep families together.
When compared nationally, Kansas continues to be identified as a state with a high removal rate. In federal FY 2023, Kansas improved by three spots to rank 10th in the nation with 3.84 removals per 1,000 children compared with the national average of 2.22 removals per 1,000 children. Approximately 61 percent of children are removed from the home due to abuse or neglect and 39 percent are removed as the family undergoes an assessment to determine future outcomes. The percentage of children removed for abuse and neglect has decreased over time, and the percentage of children removed during a family needs assessment has increased as the State invests in prevention efforts aimed at keeping families together.
By Amanda Prosser and Elizabeth Cohn.
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