In November 2018, a group of young people in foster care in Kansas, represented by NCYL and its partners, filed a lawsuit challenging Kansas’s failure to protect the safety and well-being of children and youth in the custody of the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). The lawsuit focused on two specific systemic issues: first, DCF’s failure to provide adequate housing for children in the state’s care, leading to extreme housing disruption, and second, the failure to provide needed mental and behavioral health screening, diagnostic services, and treatment, including trauma-related services.
In January 2021, a federal judge approved a settlement agreement resolving the case. The settlement will bring transformative, structural change to Kansas’s broken child welfare system by ending extreme placement instability and ensuring children receive the mental health care they need.
The settlement requires structural changes and measurable outcomes directed to dramatically improving housing stability and mental health supports for children in DCF’s care. Its key requirements include:
- Ending the practice of housing children in unsuitable places like offices and hotels;
- Ending the practice of night-to-night and short term placements;
- Ensuring that placements are not overcrowded and do not exceed licensed capacity;
- Ending housing-related delays in the provision of mental health services; and
- Providing crisis intervention services for children throughout the state.
The settlement also mandates 5 measurable outcome improvements for children in foster care, related to:
- Achieving a low average rate of placement moves;
- Addressing mental health and behavioral health treatment needs;
- Ensuring children’s current placements are stable;
- Limiting placement changes; and
- Providing an initial mental health and trauma screen within 30 days of entry into state care.
The settlement’s requirements are phased in over a series of one-year periods, with compliance overseen by expert neutrals at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, and involvement from a stakeholder advisory group.
Case Files
Reply in Support of Motion for Attorneys' Fees and ExpensesTitle of FilingPlaintiffs’ Reply Memorandum Of Law In Further Support Of Plaintiffs’ Motion For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses Plaintiffs
December 23, 2020
Notice of ErrataTitle of FilingNotice of Errata Plaintiffs
December 17, 2020
Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorneys' Fees and ExpensesTitle of FilingMemorandum In Opposition To Plaintiffs’ Motion For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses Defendants
December 16, 2020
Declaration of Leecia WelchTitle of FilingDeclaration of Leecia Welch in Support of Plaintiffs' Summary of and Responses to Submissions Plaintiffs
December 14, 2020
Responses to Submissions Received in Response to Notice of Proposed Class Action SettlementTitle of FilingPlaintiffs’ Summary Of And Responses To Submissions Received In Response To Notice Of Proposed Class Action Settlement December 14, 2020
Notice of SettlementTitle of FilingNotice of Proposed Class Action Settlement December 1, 2020
Declaration of Leecia WelchTitle of FilingDeclaration of Leecia Welch in Support of Final Approval Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Declaration of Loretta Burns-BucklewTitle of FilingDeclaration of Loretta Burns-Bucklew in Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees & Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Motion For Attorneys’ Fees And ExpensesTitle of FilingPlaintiffs’ Motion For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Motion for Final ApprovalTitle of FilingUnopposed Motion For Final Approval Of Class Action Settlement And Memorandum Of Law In Support Court
November 30, 2020
Brief In Support Motion for Attorneys' Fees & ExpensesTitle of FilingPlaintiffs’ Memorandum Of Law In Support Of Motion For Attorneys’ Fees And Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Declaration of Ira LustbaderTitle of FilingDeclaration of Ira Lustbader in Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees & Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Declaration of Leecia WelchTitle of FilingDeclaration of Leecia Welch in Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees & Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Declaration of Teresa A. WoodyTitle of FilingDeclaration of Teresa A. Woody in Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees & Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Declaration of J. Nick BadgerowTitle of FilingDeclaration of J. Nick Badgerow in Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees & Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Declaration of Caryn SchechtmanTitle of FilingDeclaration of Caryn Schechtman in Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees & Expenses Plaintiffs
November 30, 2020
Order granting preliminary approvalTitle of FilingOrder Certifying Settlement Class, Granting Preliminary Approval of Settlement Agreement Court
September 9, 2020
Settlement AgreementTitle of FilingSettlement Agreement July 9, 2020
ComplaintTitle of FilingFirst Amended Complaint - Class Action Plaintiffs
September 6, 2019
