Kansas Thriving Families

National Movement to Reinvent Child Welfare

Every child deserves a nurturing family.

Every family deserves to live in a safe, supportive community.

Together, we can build momentum to prioritize family well-being in hopes of reducing our over-reliance on foster care and family separation. We can offer better support and resources for children and the adults in their lives – parents, family members, caregivers, and educators – before they come in contact with agencies like child protective services.

Separation must be a last resort.

Let’s fundamentally rethink the child welfare system in Kansas

Every child is filled with tremendous promise – and we have a shared obligation to foster their potential.

Our current system continues to fall short in ensuring all Kansas families experience safe, stable environments for children to thrive.

Over the past decade, there was a 47% rise in the children in foster care in Kansas, with rates of removal among the highest in the nation. More youth during that time were emancipated from foster care compared to national rates. Following national trends, children of color in Kansas made up a disproportionate percentage of children in care – 15% of black children in care compared to 6% of the population.

Kansas must actively maximize every opportunity for a child’s experiences to be positive, nurturing, and safe. We must commit to partner with parents, strengthen families in their homes, and keep children with, not from, their families.

We must invest in communities and systems of care that prioritize keeping Kansas families together.

Kansas is joining states across the nation in the Thriving Families, Safer Children movement to rethink child welfare systems. The goal is to come together and re-imagine the multitude of specific ways we can better support children, families, and communities.

Priorities for Kansas

A Focus on Well-being

Address systemic barriers to well-being that reduce the need for child protective services. Families should not be penalized for lacking basic needs and supports.

Targeted, Local Approaches

Develop networks of community support for prevention of maltreatment. Our local systems of care must respond to families experiencing a life disruption before it becomes a crisis.

Listening and Co-Designing

Integrate parent and youth voice into the design of well-being systems. When families feel connected to others and supported by their community, they build resilience for shaping their future.

Taking Action

Review definitions of neglect and mandatory reporting to ensure that maltreatment is clearly differentiated from issues of poverty. This is critical for eliminating racial disparity, family separation, and the lifelong impact of toxic stress.

Coordinating Efforts

Align with public health initiatives that strengthen and support Kansas children and families. Coordination and data sharing ensure families have equitable access to a wide variety of services and concrete supports.

In a system of child well-being…

More children will stay with their families. We’ll address and alleviate family stressors before they become crises that result in intervention from the child welfare system.

We recognize the difference between poverty and child maltreatment. We’ll address the concrete needs of more children and families, preventing potential maltreatment before it occurs.

Resources will be available for families experiencing disruption. Communities will reallocate resources into equitable, hope-inspiring services and concrete supports like help with legal representation, obtaining housing, accessing public benefits, and getting the right educational services.

Costs will go down. Preventative services and concrete supports are less costly than our current system.

Resources

for Promoting Awareness

Conversation Starters and The Words We Choose to Use video developed by the Capacity Building Center for States, Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2021) as part of its Visioning for prevention series.