More Children In State Custody Under Gov Brownback

FY2013 DCF/SRS Stats and History










Total Number Children Removed Last 4 Years:

FY2013 Statewide 3,974 children removed http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2013DataReports/ServedInDCFCustody/RemovalReasonByCountyFY2013.pdf 

FY2012 Statewide 3,623 children removed

http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2012DataReports/ServedinDCFcustody/RemovalsByPrimaryReasonFY2012.pdf

FY2011 Statewide 3,408 children removed

http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2011DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/RemovalsByPrimaryReasonFY2011.pdf

FY2010 Statewide 3,444 children removed

http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2010DataReports/ServedinSRScustody/RemovalsByPrimaryReasonFY2010.pdf

Kansas continues to warehouse the children

Kansas total number of children languishing in foster care has increased in the last 4 years under Brownback

Total Number Children Served In OOHP, Out Of Home Placement:

6/30/13 Kansas total 8,853, Sedgwick County 1,452

http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2013DataReports/ServedInDCFCustody/OOHPChildrenServedSFY2013.pdf

Prior Years:

 

http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Pages/FosterCareServiceFrequency.aspx

FY2013, Of the 3,974 Children Removed, Only 2,086 Were Substantiated For Abuse:

http://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/PPS/Documents/FY2013DataReports/Intake_Finding/Investigative%20Findings_FY2013.pdf

Rally And Protest For Kansas "Grandmother Caught In Custody Dispute" Some people are good enough to be foster placements but NOT good enough to be a placement for their own grandchildren. Governor Brownback what are you doing?

for more of the story see previous link:

http://changingkansas.blogspot.com/2013/07/kansas-kvc-takes-child-from-mother-and.html

 

"On Monday, July 29, 2013, there will be a rally in front of KVC, 1223 Meadow Lark Lane, Kansas City, Kansas, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

 

This is a rally for the grandmother, Patricia, who was on the local Kansas City News, Channel 4, reporter Tess Koppelman,  last week who stated that even though she had been a foster parent for years for KVC, Patricia was not allowed placement or adoption of her 4 year old grandson.   Patricia's grandson was placed in stranger foster care and her grandson has had cuts and bruises which is possible abuse while in foster care."

Mission Kansas Police Cavity Search Mom After Toddlers Drop Pebbles in Mail Slot and Threatens To Take Children

http://intellihub.com/2013/07/16/mission-kansas-police-cavity-search-mom-after-toddlers-drop-pebbles-in-mail-slot/

""I kept asking them to call my husband to come get our scared children. They would NOT call my husband until much later. It’s like they were playing head games. I had asked (nearly BEGGED) many times for them to call their father, yet Tige Dean threatened he would take my kids away by CPS because they couldn’t get a hold of dad! Yet, they HADN’T EVEN ATTEMPTED to call him yet!""

""On the evening of 3-16-2013 around 5 pm I was leaving the Mission Post Office. I had just put my two young daughters (Ages 4 & 2) in the minivan. While I was putting packages in the car, I was unexpectedly approached from behind by a female cop– Officer Michelle Pierce.

Cop Block
July 16, 2013

She stated, “I’m going to need your identification.” I asked her, “Why?” Again, she said, “Give me your ID.” I again asked her, “Why?” The third time she was more demanding & said, “GIVE ME your identification.” I then agreed that I would give her my ID but I wanted to know WHY first. I said “Okay, but why?” She still would not tell me. At that point, you can see what happens in the video. Without warning, she started walking towards me, twists my arm, starts cuffing me, flings me around & slams me on the ground while finishing cuffing me. At that point, Officer Tim Gift arrived & assisted her. They hurt me when they dropped me on the ground & also got my thumb stuck in the cuffs. You can hear my toddler age girls crying & screaming in the car as they took me down & throughout the hour or so they had me there.
Just to mention, the THIRD officer that shows up later was not mentioned AT ALL in the Police Report. They act as if he was NEVER even there. I later found out who the THIRD officer was due to a local senior citizen contacting me & telling me WHO he was. They knew because he had abused them as well. The third officer’s name was Tige Dean.
Out of ALL THREE Police Officers, NOT ONCE did ANY of them make an attempt to console my baby girls who were huddled in the car crying & watching all this out the window. My oldest actually thought they were going to SHOOT me. This has caused much trauma.
I kept asking them to call my husband to come get our scared children. They would NOT call my husband until much later. It’s like they were playing head games. I had asked (nearly BEGGED) many times for them to call their father, yet Tige Dean threatened he would take my kids away by CPS because they couldn’t get a hold of dad! Yet, they HADN’T EVEN ATTEMPTED to call him yet!
I later found out that the Postal Employee, Yvette Jenkins, called 911 after saying that I was yelling at her, kicking the door & throwing rocks at her through the mail slot! In reality, I was arguing with my husband on the cell phone in an EMPTY Postal lobby while using the automated machine. My bored toddlers dropped pebbles in the mail slot. You can also hear Yvette Jenkins say on the video while the cops are talking to her that the Post Office has protocol & that they asked me to leave. Yet ANOTHER LIE. She was actually in the back warehouse area where I couldn’t even see her & she NEVER came out to speak to me. I was leaving on my OWN ACCORD after I told my husband on the phone, “You can ship your own dang packages on Monday!” We have tried & tried to get the Post Office to give up the video footage but they say they have NO cameras, even though they have a sign in the lobby that says the premises are monitored.

I’m disgusted with The Mission Kansas PD. From the illegal CAVITY SEARCH, to horrifying my children, to the lies in the police report, lies from the post office, trumping up charges on me to cover their asses & then LYING again saying there was NO VIDEOS of anything– out of THREE police dash cams & a FEDERAL BUILDING (Post Office). We have ALSO been THREATENED by the Prosecuter of MISSION,KS himself–Mr. David Martin!!!''
http://intellihub.com/2013/07/16/mission-kansas-police-cavity-search-mom-after-toddlers-drop-pebbles-in-mail-slot/

Kansas, KVC Takes Child From Mother And Won't Let "Foster Care Provider" Grandmother Have Grandchild

Grandmother is a foster placement for other KVC foster children http://fox4kc.com/2013/07/09/grandmother-fights-for-custody-of-own-grandson/ KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas grandmother says there’s no reason why she shouldn’t be able to have custody of her own grandson, but for some reason, the state won’t let her have him. Patricia Madison says she is approved by the state of Kansas to be a foster parent, and she’s fostered many children over the last five years. But for some reason she’s not allowed to take in her own grandson. This custody battle has been going on for about a year and a half now. But Madison says she turned to fox 4 for help because she fears her grandchild will never be returned to his family now that the child’s foster parents are interested in adopting him. For more than a year, the only way Madison has been able to see her almost four year-old grandson Tristen is with supervised visits. She used to see him weekly, but then it was changed to once a month. “When I do see him I really don’t know if that’s the last time,” she said tearfully. Madison says about a year and a half ago her grandson was taken away from her son and put into state care. For awhile Tristen was placed with Madison’s daughter, but Madison says KVC, the agency that oversees foster care, took the child away. Madison says it was because they told her daughter that she worked too much. “She works 40 hours a week, I think that’s normal,” Madison says, “you have to work to pay your bills.” Madison says she’s made it clear from the start she wanted to take in her grandson. “I told them I wanted him placed in my care because I had been working with KVC keeping their foster kids,” she said, “and they told me ‘no.’” Madison says she’s never been told exactly why she can’t have Tristen. At one point she says KVC told her it was because of an abuse allegation from 1998. But letters from the state dated last year and last week both confirm that Madison is not on the Abuse and Neglect Registry and is not barred from working with kids. “I want all of this to be investigated,” Madison said, “this is not a way of putting families together this is not the way it’s supposed to be.” Madison keeps the bedroom ready for her grandson to come home but she’s losing hope, and fears that her grandson’s foster family will be allowed to adopt Tristen. “If he’s taken from me, I will never be the same,” she said, “I love him and I miss him and I hope soon he’ll be back with us again.” Both KVC and the state’s Department of Children and Families say they can’t comment on specific cases. But KVC says it does place kids with family members whenever possible. The agency adds that it works with the state and the courts to determine what is best for the child.

"Amber Alert" - A Grandmother's Story

4 Year Old Lucas Barnes Was Murdered While Missouri Social Workers Ignored Child Abuse Reports

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Emails between employees of the Missouri Department of Social Services show notes missing as Lucas Webb’s case was transferred between investigators.
The 4-year-old died in October 2012 from blunt force trauma to his abdomen. Prosecutors have charged his stepmom, Melissa Webb, with kicking him to the stomach. Both she and Lucas’ dad, Justin Webb, face second-degree murder charges for Lucas’ death.
People with concerns about Lucas called into the child abuse hotline five separate times over three years. Despite repeated calls about unexplained bruises, documents show the Missouri Department of Social Services dismissed each call, labeling them as unsubstantiated.

RELATED | Two Department of Social Services employees fired after 4-year-old’s death http://bit.ly/19XnlVf

The department released hundreds of pages of documents Monday about Lucas’ case. Included in those records are dozens of emails between Missouri Department of Social Services employees which detail how that may have happened.
The emails surround the final hotline call made to DSS in September, just weeks before Lucas’ death.
Emails show the case assigned to one employee but another employee assigned to visit the home. She turns her notes over to the other worker to complete the investigation.
Some notes appear to never have made it into the file as emails between workers show supervisors repeatedly asking one worker for her notes
After Lucas’ death, emails fly between employees again.
One supervisor details what she knew about the case writing, “I also want to note that I can’t re-do every case that workers go out on, so I put my trust in the others involved.”
She also writes that even though the caller to the hotline said Lucas was complaining his stepmom kicked him in the stomach “the main focus was child hungry and looked underweight.”
It again highlights that information was missing from the file.
The supervisor writes: “Had I had all the information that we have now, then the report would have been different. I went with the information I had at the time I closed it.”
The Department of Social Services released the following statement about Lucas’ case:
The death of any child is a tragedy and the Department of Social Services deeply regrets the death of Lucas Barnes. 
In all cases where we have a child death or serious injury, we review those incidents to determine whether staff complied with law and policy, or to determine whether policy needed to be changed.  The department looked into the case of Lucas Barnes and determined that policy was not followed.  As a result, appropriate personnel actions was taken and two employees are no longer working for the Department of Social Services.
We asked the department to clarify which specific policies they found were not followed and they provided us the following links.

• 4.1.1.2 Reviewing Prior History

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section2/ch4/sec2ch4sub1.htm#n4112

• 4.1.4.1 Interviewing the Child(ren) Alone

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section2/ch4/sec2ch4sub1_4.htm#n4141

• 4.1.3.1 Investigations Involving Reported Physical Injuries and/or Sexual Abuse

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section2/ch4/sec2ch4sub1_3.htm#n4131

• 4.1.5.1  Chief Investigator

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section2/ch4/sec2ch4sub1_5.htm#n4151

• 4.1.4.4 Collaterals

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section2/ch4/sec2ch4sub1_4.htm#n4144

• 4.1.10.1  Minimum Contact Standards for Delayed Conclusions

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/info/cwmanual/section2/ch4/sec2ch4sub1_10.htm#n41101

Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/emails-shed-light-on-hotline-calls-about-lucas-webb#ixzz2UGrePamr

No Surprise!, "Riehl said in 80 percent of child abuse deaths, the children had contact with social workers."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Following months of requests by the 41 Action News Investigators, the Missouri Department of Social Services said Tuesday afternoon that it will make the child welfare records regarding two Kansas City children public.
A spokeswoman said the records of LP and Lucas Webb will both be released.

Officers discovered 10-year old LP locked in a closet on June 22, 2012. She was starving and covered in her own feces, and weighed only one-third of what children her age should weigh. Her mother and her mother’s boyfriend were charged with child abuse.

Four-year-old Lucas Webb died from blunt force trauma to his abdomen on October 17, 2012. During the investigation, detectives learned Lucas had told an adult his stepmother, Melissa Webb, kicked him in the stomach with her foot.

Both Lucas’s dad and stepmother have been charged in his death.

RELATED | Innocence lost: A timeline of abuse http://bit.ly/WzK9FW

The 41 Action News Investigators requested the records of these two children as well as the records of 8-year-old GW, who a social worker found locked in her bedroom, surrounded by urine.

The little girl reportedly told police she had been locked in the room for a month at a time, was not allowed to use the restroom and had not been fed regularly.
Missouri state law allows for the department to release records in child fatalities and near fatalities. However, the law also gives the director of the Department of Social Services the ultimate say on whether the records are released or not.
41 Action News sent its first request in October 2012. Despite correspondence by phone, email, and mail as well as our attorney, we have not received those records. The department has repeatedly denied our requests.
Christina Riehl, an attorney with the Children’s Advocacy Institute in San Diego, said it is important for children for those records to be released.
“Without sunshine and light on what is going on, people don't know that change need to happen," Riehl said.
The institute reviews and ranks states for the openness of their child welfare systems.

The CAI gave Missouri law a B-minus. To see the report, go to http://bit.ly/QFyUfi

Riehl said the state received that ranking because Missouri law does allow for the release of information. However, the institute did downgrade its ranking to a B-minus because it feels the laws are not specific and allows the director discretion over which records are released.
“Unfortunately, the department is taking every opportunity to not release information,” Riehl said after reviewing the correspondence between our attorney and the DSS.
Riehl said in 80 percent of child abuse deaths, the children had contact with social workers.
She said not releasing the records is a missed opportunity by Missouri to improve the system because the records not only alerts the public where the system is broken, but also allows the public to know what resources the system may need to do a better job protecting kids.
“When we are talking about children who died, we need to know what happened and why it happened so that we can save the next child,” Riehl said.
A spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services told the 41 Action News the department expects to have the records of LP available by the end of the week.
She said the department was unsure when they would have the records of Lucas Webb ready.
The department has not yet made a decision about whether it will release the records of GW.


Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/missouri-to-release-records-concerning-two-cases-of-child-abuse-in-kansas-city#ixzz2UGpz0nuP