Lawmakers Resume Effort To Strengthen Observation Regulations In Kansas Child Abuse Investigations

By Noah Taborda, the Kansas Reflector

February 1, 2021

TOPEKA — Rep. Luis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, Kansas, again pushed Monday for the passage of a bill that would mandate social workers and law enforcement agencies to visually observe children they suspect are being abused or neglected.

Adrian’s Law — named after Adrian Jones, a Kansas City, Kansas, boy who was killed after years of abuse from his father and stepmother — would require the Kansas Department of Children and Families and the investigating law enforcement agency to physically view at-risk children when visiting the home, rather than knocking and either taking adult caregivers’ assurance of the child’s safety or leaving.

Testifying in support of the bill before the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs, Ruiz said he was going to bat for children like Adrian who are not receiving the attention they require.

“If you realize what we can do to help layer a protective measure for these children in their abusive situations, we can’t turn a blind eye,” Ruiz said. “This situation happens too much.”

Proponents of Adrian’s Law said this measure would ensure at-risk children are being identified and looked after. The lone opponent claimed the bill would place an undue burden on law enforcement and, in some cases, hamper their ability to properly care for the child.

Ruiz summarized for legislators the harrowing details of Adrian’s case, who repeatedly told social workers his dad and stepmom were abusing him but was not removed from the situation. The seven-year-old starved to death.

Ruiz noted this is not the only example in recent memory where this bill may have prevented a child’s death.

“This is one of the most horrendous things that we remember happening to child, but last summer we had a little girl, Olivia Jansen, whose father reported her missing,” Ruiz said. “Subsequently, the authorities found out that he was the one who killed her.”

Ruiz has introduced a similar bill each year since 2017, and, although no iteration has yet to pass the House, he and other supporters of the measure remained optimistic it would pass.

“I think it’s imperative that Adrian’s Law is passed,” said Judy Conway, Adrian’s grandmother. “And I hope, and I pray that this is the year that it finally gets passed.”

Ed Klumpp, a representative of three law enforcement organizations in Kansas, said he agreed with the basic principle of the bill but was testifying against the measure because the mandate did not provide room for “reasonable exception.”

Klumpp’s said the policy is not practical or feasible in every case, thus opening agencies to liability even if they followed best practices.

“Legislating investigative practices as a requirement in every case is fraught with unintended consequences and costs,” Klumpp said, adding that mandatory reporting requirements, along with other reports, resulted in more than 66,000 reports during the 2020 fiscal year. “That is a massive caseload,” he said.

He said some child abuse cases require cross-state cooperation when the abuser may flee with the child. Adrian’s law would bind Kansas law enforcement officers to physically view the child themselves, rather than coordinate with an agency across state lines.

Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, did not view a requirement that DCF or the investigating law enforcement officer physically view the child in all cases as a negative consequence.

“I see the problem that right now it’s too easy to pass the buck,” Miller said.

The House Committee on Federal and State Affairs also heard testimony on a bill altering the process by which state agency rules and regulations are reviewed.

Under the current Kansas statute, the state budget director must review and approve all regulations before sending them on to the secretary of administration and the attorney general for further examination. If either subsequent reviewer makes alterations to the regulation, the director of the budget must once again approve the rule.

The proposed legislation would maintain a similar process but change the order, so the budget director is the last stop in the review order. It would also only require review for those regulations over $3 million.

The bill had been scheduled for debate last year before the session ended early due to COVID-19, said Rep. Ron Highland, R-Wamego.

Adam Proffitt, the governor’s budget director, said it would reduce the number of times he and his staff would need to review a proposed regulation, speeding up the process.

“This bill presents a unique opportunity for the Legislature to both increase efficiency within state government but also maintain that crucial component of a secondary review for high dollar items that are going to come through,” Proffitt said.

The Kansas Reflector seeks to increase people's awareness of how decisions made by elected representatives and other public servants affect our day-to-day lives. We hope to empower and inspire greater participation in democracy throughout Kansas.