Each legislative session, we provide Shawnee Mission area legislators the opportunity to share their thoughts about what’s happening in the state capitol. Rep. Jarrod Ousley, Rep. Owen Donohoe and Sen. Barbara Bollier are scheduled to send updates this week. Rep. Ousley’s column is below.
This legislative session one of my priority bills is HB 2187, a committee bill I requested, to create an Office of the Child Advocate for our state’s foster care system. The Kansas Child Death Review Board report as well as the 2018 Child Welfare System Task Force that studied our children’s welfare system recommended interagency communication and collaboration to ensure each child’s specific situation was reviewed and tracked holistically. This Office would provide this benefit. Kansas is one of a few states that does not currently have an Office of the Child Advocate, or an Ombudsman Office to address children’s services concerns. According to federal standards for best practices for governmental ombudsman offices, independence from the Agency or Department is a core defining principle to providing effective services.
The model for the Office of the Child Advocate proposed in HB 2187 is an office established by the Kansas Legislature that reports and acts independently of the Department for Children and Families, and independently from the Department of Corrections (which has oversight over children in the criminal justice system). Thirteen states currently have similar independently operated offices, which meet the highest level of independence under the U.S. Ombudsman Association’s best practices.
The Office of the Child Advocate would be created in the Department of Administration and would be jointly appointed by the Governor and the Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice, with the advice and consent of the Kansas Senate. The advocate would report directly to the Secretary of Administration, serving a six-year term. Most importantly, the advocate would have the authority to communicate with any child in protective services, and anyone working with the child, access relevant records, work with juvenile officers, guardian ad litems, and the Office of the Attorney General. The advocate would establish and implement procedures or responding to and resolving complaints made by or on behalf of children receiving state services, conduct independent reviews of entities with reports of abuse or neglect, and draft and submit briefs to support the interests of children to courts.
On Thursday, the Children and Seniors Committee held a hearing for this bill. There were over a dozen proponents, including two agencies that contract with the Department of Children and Families, Cornerstones of Care and Foster Adopt Connect, and the Missouri Child Advocate, Kelly Shultz, who provided information on how child advocates can work with each other across state lines, a benefit that may have assisted in preventing recent tragedies were it already in place. There were zero opponents, and zero neutral testifiers.
As always, it is my privilege to serve my constituents in House District 24. I can be reached at jarrod.ousley@house.ks.gov at (785) 296-7366 and on Facebook.
