Kansas Senator Kelly served on the Children's Issues Committee and listened to testimony from parents and family members of children wrongfully taken from them. Kelly didn't appear to have any sympathy or will to make changes in a system that is well known to be broken. During the testimonies many people were crying from listening to the stories. Kelly's comment was that next time we'll have hearings to listen to all the good foster care does.
Doesn't Care, No Concern, And Now What Does Kelly Want To DO?
Kelly doesn't like the new SRS policy which allows parents whose children are in the foster care system to sign a one-page release form that gives a select House or Senate member access to their family's case file.
""In the past, Kelly said a constituent would complain to her and she would forward concerns to SRS and get a response that included what she needed to know based on specific concerns.
“I didn’t walk out from that conversation with, you know, their personal psychiatric history in detail,” she said. “I didn’t need to. I don’t want to. And I don’t think I should have been able to.”"
Regarding parents having the right to give their records
to a select lawmaker?
Kelly said, "it may be legal, but that doesn’t make it right."Maybe Kelly just doesn't want to be bothered by her constituents and can't emotionally handle these issues.
Here's the article:
Lawmaker says foster care case files may be too open
TOPEKA — Earlier this year, the Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services loosened its records policy to allow parents whose children are now in the foster care system to sign a one-page release form that gives a select House or Senate member access to their family’s case file.
The move gives lawmakers access to records that explain, in detail, the circumstances that led to a child being removed from his or her home. That can include narratives of alleged abuse, medical files, psychiatric evaluations, drug tests, court records, credit history and payment history, among other things.
The policy change followed years of frustration among lawmakers who were trying to get to the bottom of complaints from parents who felt the state wrongly removed their child. Previous rules allowed people to give lawmakers and SRS officials permission to discuss the case, but lawmakers didn’t have access to the actual documents and social workers could decide how much to disclose.
Today, Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said not everyone may be aware of how much information can be disclosed under the new policy. She read portions of the release form out loud to the Joint Committee on Home and Community Based Services Oversight.
It’s probably not necessary for lawmakers to have so much detailed confidential information to understand what happened, she said.
The new release forms include a check box that gives the lawmaker permission to share the case file with anyone else they want.
“We are letting clients give me as a legislator, with limited legal or clinical background, the right to disseminate their personal, private, confidential medical information to anyone I deem appropriate?” Kelly asked SRS Secretary Rob Siedlecki. “I, who have no qualifications to decide whether to do this or not?”
Siedlecki said parents already have the right to give their family’s files to a lawmaker who could share the information with the world. The idea is to help lawmakers, and the form provides added protection, he said.
Kelly said it may be legal, but that doesn’t make it right. “It’s different for a person to be able to do something versus the state to condone it,” she said.
In the past, Kelly said a constituent would complain to her and she would forward concerns to SRS and get a response that included what she needed to know based on specific concerns.
“I didn’t walk out from that conversation with, you know, their personal psychiatric history in detail,” she said. “I didn’t need to. I don’t want to. And I don’t think I should have been able to.”
Gary Haulmark, director of legislative affairs for SRS, estimated his office handles 3 to 5 of the release forms a month during the legislative session and about one or two a month during the rest of the year.
After the meeting, Siedlecki said he wants to be able to get information out on controversial cases without exposing some personal information, such as Social Security numbers.
“I want to be open,” he said.
TOPEKA — Earlier this year, the Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services loosened its records policy to allow parents whose children are now in the foster care system to sign a one-page release form that gives a select House or Senate member access to their family’s case file.
The move gives lawmakers access to records that explain, in detail, the circumstances that led to a child being removed from his or her home. That can include narratives of alleged abuse, medical files, psychiatric evaluations, drug tests, court records, credit history and payment history, among other things.
The policy change followed years of frustration among lawmakers who were trying to get to the bottom of complaints from parents who felt the state wrongly removed their child. Previous rules allowed people to give lawmakers and SRS officials permission to discuss the case, but lawmakers didn’t have access to the actual documents and social workers could decide how much to disclose.
Today, Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said not everyone may be aware of how much information can be disclosed under the new policy. She read portions of the release form out loud to the Joint Committee on Home and Community Based Services Oversight.
It’s probably not necessary for lawmakers to have so much detailed confidential information to understand what happened, she said.
The new release forms include a check box that gives the lawmaker permission to share the case file with anyone else they want.
“We are letting clients give me as a legislator, with limited legal or clinical background, the right to disseminate their personal, private, confidential medical information to anyone I deem appropriate?” Kelly asked SRS Secretary Rob Siedlecki. “I, who have no qualifications to decide whether to do this or not?”
Siedlecki said parents already have the right to give their family’s files to a lawmaker who could share the information with the world. The idea is to help lawmakers, and the form provides added protection, he said.
Kelly said it may be legal, but that doesn’t make it right. “It’s different for a person to be able to do something versus the state to condone it,” she said.
In the past, Kelly said a constituent would complain to her and she would forward concerns to SRS and get a response that included what she needed to know based on specific concerns.
“I didn’t walk out from that conversation with, you know, their personal psychiatric history in detail,” she said. “I didn’t need to. I don’t want to. And I don’t think I should have been able to.”
Gary Haulmark, director of legislative affairs for SRS, estimated his office handles 3 to 5 of the release forms a month during the legislative session and about one or two a month during the rest of the year.
After the meeting, Siedlecki said he wants to be able to get information out on controversial cases without exposing some personal information, such as Social Security numbers.
“I want to be open,” he said.
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