Senate Working To Lift Ban On State Board Sharing Child-Death Information With Police, Prosecutors

By Tim Carpenter, the Kansas Reflector

February 2, 2021

TOPEKA — A Senate committee is considering changes to state law forbidding information in hands of a Kansas child death review board about potential homicides to be shared with local law enforcement and prosecutors.

Melissa Johnson, senior assistant attorney general and chairwoman of the State Child Death Review Board, told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday the board endorsed reforms contained in Senate Bill 83 that would address shortcomings in statute inhibiting complete investigation of potential criminal offenses. The reform bill will serve interests of work to reduce tragedy of child fatalities, she said.

“The existing statute prevents the board from being able to provide information to law enforcement that they may not be aware of about a child’s death that they are investigating,” Johnson said. “Similarly, the board may have information that would change a prosecutor’s decision on whether or not to charge someone in a specific case that we are currently restricted from providing to them.”

Under the bill, Kansas could participate in a national database that aggregates information associated with the cause of child deaths. The legislation specifies child fatality information be shared with law enforcement agencies, county and district attorneys, members of the Legislature in executive session, state licensing agencies in relation to disciplinary complaints and for health education research with personally identifiable information redacted.

Ed Klumpp, a former Topeka police chief who lobbies on behalf of three law enforcement associations, said limited disclosure of information about child deaths for investigative purposes was sound public policy. He serves the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police in Hutchinson, Kansas Sheriffs Association in Pittsburg and Kansas Peace Officers Association in Wichita.

“If there is any reason for the board to believe law enforcement is either not aware of a case of child abuse or neglect resulting in death or if there is additional information that would either clear a suspect or help bring a suspect to justice, it would be unconscionable for that information to not be passed to a criminal investigative agency,” he said.

Foster care reporting

The Senate committee didn’t take action on the child death reporting proposal nor Senate Bill 85, which would modify sharing of information about foster care children in Kansas who were missing or who were forced by contractors to spend the night in unapproved locations such as office buildings, vehicles or motels.

Under the foster care legislation, contractors would be required to notify the Kansas Department for Children and Families within 24 hours of determining a child was missing or had to stay in a contractor’s office or comparable alternative. DCF would be required by the bill to notify the governor within 24 hours and legislators within 48 hours whenever a child was missing from a foster placement or spent the night in an unlicensed location. The newspaper of record in the county where the youth went missing or was improperly housed also would be informed by the state.

DCF also would be required under the Senate bill to fine contractors $500 per day for failure to abide by reporting mandates.

Tanya Keys, deputy secretary at DCF, told senators that under existing DCF policy a foster care provider must inform the agency within two hours of learning of a missing child. DCF is responsible for notifying the child’s parents or primary caregivers, law enforcement agencies, court and school officials, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, she said. The secretary of DCF receives a daily report on missing or runaway youth, a number that stood at 69 as of Monday. Information about these foster care children has been posted daily to a public website managed by DCF.

Keys also said the agency was obligated by settlement of a class-action lawsuit to eliminate by Oct. 31 the use by contractors of these unorthodox overnight locations for foster children. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, she said, Kansas cut these questionable placements in half to 43.

Greg Smith, a former state senator who works on policy issues for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, said there was danger of causing confusion if DCF policy on notifications stood at two hours while the proposed law contained a 24-hour notification time frame for law enforcement. He expressed concern individuals would report cases to DCF and neglect to follow through with law enforcement agencies saddled with a different deadline.

It is important for legislators to understand challenges faced by children in foster care that contribute to a desire to flee, said Rachel Marsh, chief executive officer of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas. The alliance is an association of 18 private, nonprofit child welfare agencies working on child abuse and neglect prevention, family preservation, foster care, adoption and independent living. The organization also assists with parent, youth and child skill-building, mental health and substance use treatment.

She said the Senate bill was focused on youth with the most complex behavioral health needs in foster care. For example, she said, some suffer from withdrawal from addictions. Without adequate access to treatment, she said, they flee foster placements to begin reusing.

“These youth are likely to have a history of family trauma, crossover youth behavioral challenges, significant mental health needs and substance use addiction,” Marsh said. “Effective intervention for these behaviors can be complicated by intellectual or developmental disabilities.”

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.