Kansas Foster Care IS Rampant With Secrecy, CoverUPS, Forced Illegal Services

Per the article below, SRS/DCF wants families who have complaints about Faith Builders to contact the State. I would contact Rick Plumlee at 316-268-6660 or rplumlee@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rickplumlee.

Can you really have faith in a system that falsifies records to steal children? Are you concerned that the State files allegations against parents to remove children, then places the children in State custody with an agency with no oversight? ""Gilmore she said that DCF doesn’t have a contract with Faith Builders. DCF contracts with St. Francis in the Wichita region to provide foster care and family preservation services, she said. St. Francis contracts with DCCCA, a Lawrence-based organization, which works directly with Faith Builders, she said.""

Does anyone really believe that SRS Secretary Phyllis Gilmore is going to do something about violations of children and parental rights when she was over the KSBSRB and refused to investigate social workers when parents and families made complaints to the KSBSRB? http://changingkansas.blogspot.com/2012/02/phyllis-gilmore-secretary-of-srscps-is.html

What about these legislators who have known about these issues and have done nothing to help children and families? Our State lawmakers have written laws that give immunity to State workers with no consequences for violations of law by these individuals. When Don Jordan was the SRS Secretary he was recorded in a closed meeting stating that the Sedgwick County DA Nola Foulston's office bullied social workers to alter records to place children in foster care. The State did an audit, found this to be true, then dropped the ball. What was the purpose of the audit and multiple hearings over the years except to cost the tax payers money and fund the legislators retirements.

As for Brownback, he made promises to improve the foster care system and failed. Under his watch, more children are being removed from their parents custody each year that he has been in office. At this point, anyone would be a better option than Brownback.

2008 March 18, 2008, SRS Secretary Don Jordan said the Social Workers were bullied into falsifying records: "But in Sedgwick County oftentimes we end up writing things because it's what our social workers get bullied by the district attorney's office ( Sedgwick County) into writing. So they really have no belief in what it says." "The reality comes down to, you send a 25-year-old social worker into a room with a 15-year county ADA who is willing to yell at them, cuss at them, scream at them and threaten them," Jordan said. Don Jordan said, “I am working on our staff that we do our assessments properly and we not get bullied into writing things we don’t believe” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2BhDnnC2x4
Jun. 08, 2008, Concerns arise over SRS files' validity, BY TIM POTTER, The Wichita Eagle ""For years, some families have complained that court documents filed by social workers that result in children being removed from the home have contained false or fabricated information. " Now, some say they have proof. The head of the state's child welfare agency was recorded in a meeting with a family advocacy group saying that Sedgwick County prosecutors have "bullied" social workers into putting information they don't agree with in affidavits....But critics of the state child custody system and some legislators say the remarks by Don Jordan, secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, raise questions about the affidavits' validity. "" http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.child-protective-services/browse_thread/thread/3db7b9c96116196d/8ae03d3a4852077d?lnk=gst&q=nancy+berry#8ae03d3a4852077d
Child removal inquiry's focus Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008 The Legislative Post Audit Committee last month approved the SRS probe after statements by SRS Secretary Don Jordan that the Sedgwick County prosecutors "bullied" social workers to put things in affidavits that they didn't truly believe. Jordan since has backed off those statements, and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston has denied the accusation. But lawmakers still pushed for an investigation — saying they had heard such allegations even before Jordan's widely publicized statements. Senator Schodorf said she asked for the audit after Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six declined to investigate, citing Jordan’s retraction of his statements. http://cjonline.com/stories/103108/kan_350202188.shtml

For the current story, read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/24/3076954/kansas-dcf-halts-placements-with.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter#storylink=cpy

Kansas DCF halts placements with foster-home operator Faith Builders pending review

 By Rick Plumlee The Wichita Eagle Published Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, at 5:21 p.m.

Legislators criticize DCF for keeping report secret Results of internal review of Kansas agency for children, families won’t be disclosed DCF's letter to legislators In a letter to state legislators, the secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families said her agency wouldn’t place children at foster homes operated by Faith Builders until a review of ongoing concerns is completed.

Phyllis Gilmore wrote in the letter dated Thursday, “I want you to be aware that in an abundance of caution, I have instructed our contractors and sub-contractors to do no further placements with homes associated with Faith Builders.”

Faith Builders and its association with DCF’s regional office in Wichita became a topic of concern among legislators. Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, contacted DCF staff in August, prompting the initial review.

She cited such concerns as the agency’s Wichita office directing children to Faith Builders’ foster care homes, improperly providing confidential information to Faith Builders and Faith Builders circumventing the court process on parental rights.

That review was completed and given to Gilmore on Oct. 10, but Gilmore would not release the results publicly, citing attorney-client privilege. That resulted in a bipartisan group of legislators calling for the review to be made public, which prompted Gilmore’s letter.

Theresa Freed, a DCF spokeswoman, said the letter was sent to eight legislators who have spoken publicly to the media about the issue. The letter will be sent to additional legislators, if they request it.

Diane Bidwell resigned last week as director of the Wichita office. DCF officials have said the resignation was voluntary.

Gary Ayers, attorney for Faith Builders, said Thursday he wasn’t aware of the content of the letter until a copy was provided by The Eagle.

“I was trying to reach our client,” he said. “I don’t know if Faith Builders has received any notification from DCF. This comes as a surprise.”

Ayers said Faith Builders has 25 foster homes in Wichita. Since it began operation in 2007, he said, it has helped many families by providing food, cribs, rent, furniture, respite and foster care.

When he met with the DCF investigator during the preliminary review, Ayers said: “We asked if Faith Builders had done anything wrong.

The DCF investigator said no. “The DCF investigator also indicated there had been no family complaints,” he added. “It seems the only complaint has come from a politician.”

Faust-Goudeau could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Gilmore said in her letter that the initial review has prompted her to request additional “work be done to address DCF’s association with Faith Builders.”

“I want to assure you, we are quickly and thoroughly reviewing each and every case in which Faith Builders has been involved,” she said. Information from the additional review will be shared with the legislators after it’s completed, she added.

Gilmore she said that DCF doesn’t have a contract with Faith Builders. DCF contracts with St. Francis in the Wichita region to provide foster care and family preservation services, she said.

St. Francis contracts with DCCCA, a Lawrence-based organization, which works directly with Faith Builders, she said.

Reach Rick Plumlee at 316-268-6660 or rplumlee@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rickplumlee.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/24/3076954/kansas-dcf-halts-placements-with.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter#storylink=cpy

Results of internal review of Kansas agency for children, families won't be disclosed http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/18/3066320/results-of-internal-review-of.html

Legislators criticize DCF for keeping report secret http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/23/3074507/legislators-criticize-dcf-for.html

 DCF's letter to legislators http://media.kansas.com/smedia/2013/10/24/16/32/14wqUC.So.80.pdf

Kansas has created a heritage of broken families, poverty and suffering

Kansas will take a couple decades to rebuild after the slaughter, by child protective services, of so many families. That's only on the assumption that the new governor and any following will work to maintain the family unit.

Broken families are handicapped by the devastation of losing their children and many struggle to work. The public employees, Judges, lawyers, police, district attorneys, social workers, teachers, therapists, foster care agencies, legislators, etc... want to receive a pay check but have made no attempt to protect the private sector from state abuse.

Without the private sector, there wouldn't be public employees.

Once children go into foster care there is little hope for their future as 80% of our prison population is comprised of former foster children. Obviously, foster care creates criminals. Is that in the best interest of children and citizens?

• Year 2000, SRS Press Release: THOUSANDS of Kansas children have been taken from their homes and communities and inappropriately placed in state custody and foster care over the years.  http://home.iwichita.com/rh1/hold/fp/srs_1800.htm

What's even worse is what has happened to the children in foster care. Kathleen Sebelius was Governor of Kansas between 2003-2009. In 2004, while Sebelius was watching, 71% of children in foster care were being medicated on psychotropic drugs. Many of these drugs were not approved by the FDA for children.

In 2004, Sebelius decided to keep a tight rein on the open records of children who died in foster care due to the concern there would be lawsuits. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2004/jun/29/srs_fears_open/

In January 2005, it was reported that many foster children weren't able to make it on their own and were put out on the street. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/17/group_homes_dont_foster_life_skills/

In 2005, SRS employees were told to disregard state and federal laws without consequences.  http://www.cjonline.com/stories/072205/leg_srsaudit.shtml 

In 2007 a spokesperson for Youthville said that for the majority of children in foster care school is nonexistent. http://www.clearwaterks.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=66

In March 2008, former Secretary of SRS, Don Jordan, told a group of citizens that the Sedgwick County DA bullied social workers into falsifying records to remove children from their parent's custody. The State found this to be true through a legislative post audit, yet Sebelius did nothing to correct the wrongs of these broken families. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O57nCusVtvo

Dec. 1st, 2009, a Kansas attorney testifies before the legislature regarding foster care abuse and violations of family rights.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iM_ZJTUd9M

Kansans needs to recognize that maintaining families is important to the economy, is needed for the safety of its citizens, and most importantly is necessary for the future growth and heritage of Kansas families.

Sedgwick County DA's post already drawing GOP interest

Posted on Sun, Sep. 11, 2011

BY TIM POTTER

The Wichita Eagle

The 2012 race for Sedgwick County district attorney is starting early, and may pit two Republicans with extensive experience in the District Attorney's Office.
Friday night, Deputy District Attorney Marc Bennett announced that he is running as a Republican for the position held by his boss — Nola Foulston, a Democrat who has been district attorney for 22 years. Bennett, 41, is the first to file for the job.
Foulston, 60, hasn't said publicly whether she will seek re-election. But Bennett's candidacy — while he works for her — is seen by observers as a sign that she may not run again.
"I'm making an announcement soon," Foulston said Saturday. "It will clear up any confusion."
Meanwhile, Kevin O'Connor, a 47-year-old former deputy district attorney in the office, said he is giving serious consideration to running after receiving encouragement from the county Republican Party leadership.
O'Connor said Saturday he found it puzzling that Bennett is a candidate while working for Foulston and while "the Republican Party has been recruiting me, not Marc Bennett."
"Mr. Bennett apparently agrees with me that fundamental changes need to occur in that office," and needs to spell out what those changes should be, he added.
"How's he going to do that if he works for her? He needs to be able to criticize Nola Foulston. If he doesn't, he's just a status-quo candidate, and we've had enough of the status quo.
"He needs to resign. ... I had enough guts to leave," said O'Connor, who resigned from the District Attorney's Office in January 2010.
Bennett responded: "I have a wife and three kids to support. I'm not going to resign just to throw rocks at Nola. I'm proud of the office I've worked for, proud of the job I've done."
As for O'Connor, Bennett said, "He's got his own reasons for not announcing (his candidacy), and I'd like him to respect the choices I've made."
O'Connor said that he's not ready to say what changes should occur in the office. "If I run, I will" spell them out.
Bennett said that as district attorney he would call for a "renewed emphasis" on dealing with financial crimes and identity theft, saying those crimes directly affect many people. Financial crimes will have an even bigger impact as the baby boom population ages and becomes more vulnerable, Bennett said.
After "a great deal of reflection," Bennett said, he decided last week to file as a candidate. He told Foulston he wanted to run, and she said something like "that'd be fine, go for it," he said.
It is his first run for public office.
Bennett acknowledged that he had not talked with Republican Party leaders but had met informally with some Republicans to get their feedback.
"I finally decided I was going to make a decision on my own," he said.
Bennett said he considers O'Connor a friend and noted that the two have worked together prosecuting some high-profile murder cases, including the killing of pregnant, 14-year-old Chelsea Brooks of Wichita.
Bennett, who grew up in Goddard and west Wichita and graduated from Washburn University School of Law, has a reputation for being assertive without being combative.
He has played bluegrass music, on acoustic bass and guitar, since he was a child.
He and his wife, Tamara, have three daughters.
O'Connor, the son of Irish immigrants, grew up in a suburb north of Chicago. He is a former college rugby player —"mainly known for my tackling ability" — who has a reputation for combativeness in the courtroom. As his boss, Foulston publicly referred to him as the "Fighting Irish" on her staff.
He now does contract work on criminal cases around the state as a special assistant attorney general.
Party backs O'Connor
The chairman of the Sedgwick County Republican Party, Bob Dool, said last week: "Kevin O'Connor is certainly the person that we are encouraging at this point" to run for district attorney.
"We think he's very well qualified, and we have encouraged him to pursue this race.
"He is highly respected by law enforcement, which is obviously important," Dool said. The district attorney is the chief law enforcement officer in the county and the gatekeeper — deciding whether charges are filed in cases presented by law enforcement. The office prosecutes everything from misdemeanors to death penalty cases and consumer fraud and juvenile custody cases.
O'Connor is well-suited for the job, Dool said. "I think he has a reputation of being tough but fair," said Dool, president and owner of Wichita-based Mid-Continent Safety, which sells industrial safety products.
Dool said he didn't know Bennett and had not been contacted by him.
"If he's working there (in the District Attorney's Office) now, it might indicate that Nola's not going to run, but we don't know that."
There could be other Republican candidates besides Bennett, Dool said.
"Right now, I would certainly support Kevin (O'Connor)," he said.
As the incumbent, Foulston has proven herself, said Betty Arnold, chairwoman of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party.
"I don't know if it's her intent to seek re-election, but if it is, we certainly will support her," Arnold said.
The fact that Foulston has been repeatedly re-elected shows "that Sedgwick County has confidence in her ability to run the office," said Arnold, also a member of the Wichita school board.
Sizing up the race
Even before Bennett announced his candidacy, Ken Ciboski, a Republican and Wichita State University associate professor of political science, said he wondered if Foulston might not run again.
"If she thinks that somebody like Kevin O'Connor can defeat her, she may very well step down," Ciboski said. "You kind of want to go out with grace. You don't want to go out as a defeated person."
Ciboski said both O'Connor and Bennett have strong resumes and extensive experience in the District Attorney's Office — about 17 years for O'Connor and about 14 years for Bennett — and either would be a sound candidate, he said.
After years of being in office, Ciboski said, Foulston is "politically vulnerable ... For one thing, she's been in there a long time. But after a while, things begin to wear a little thin. You're bound to make enemies ... you can't make everybody happy."
Ciboski agreed that Bennett's candidacy, while working for Foulston, indicated that she will not seek re-election —"although it's not out of the realm of possibility."
Bennett's early announcement — coupled with the fact that he has a strong resume — could help him keep potential opponents from entering the race, Ciboski said.
Ciboski said he has wondered whether Kim Parker — the chief deputy district attorney, the No. 2 position — might run if Foulston doesn't. But Parker said Saturday that she has no desire to be a candidate, and that although she is "a committed Republican ... I think politics is a hard and nasty business. It doesn't suit me."
O'Connor's experience
O'Connor graduated from the University of Kansas Law School and went to work for Foulston. During part of 2001 and 2002, he worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney in federal death penalty cases, then was rehired by Foulston.
As a prosecutor working under contract with the Kansas Attorney General's Office, he is involved in the capital murder case against Adam Longoria, charged in the killing of 14-year-old Alicia DeBolt of Great Bend.
If O'Connor runs, it will be his second campaign. In 2000, while living in Hutchinson, he lost the race for Reno County district attorney.
With next year's election, he said, he'll make the decision on whether to run "based on what's best for me and my family, without regard to whoever else is running."
He and his wife, Jennifer, have four children, ages 9 to 15.

Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/11/2011140/das-post-already-drawing-gop-interest.html#ixzz1Xg6oXew2

Bennett announces candidacy for Sedgwick County DA

BY HURST LAVIANA

The Wichita Eagle

WICHITA — Veteran prosecutor Marc Bennett announced today that he has filed as a Republican candidate for the office of Sedgwick County District Attorney.
Bennett, who serves as deputy district attorney under Nola Foulston, is the first person to announce his candidacy for the office. Foulston, a Democrat who has been in office since 1989, has not said whether she plans to seek re-election.
Bennett, 41, began his career as an assistant county attorney in Geary County, and has prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases since joining the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office in 1997. He has prosecuted capital murder cases against Elgin Robinson, Ted Burnette, Douglas Belt and Cornelius Oliver.
Bennett is a graduate of Goddard High School, Kansas State University and Washburn University School of Law. He and his wife, Tamara, have three daughters.

Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/09/2009558/bennett-announces-candidacy-for.html#ixzz1Xg61FC4P

KS Asst Dir CFS Sue McKenna Misleads Public

Kansas Assistant Director of Children and Family Services, Roberta Sue McKenna, participated in a panel discussion which included Kansas Attorney/Guardian Ad Litems, and Judges. This was titled "KTWU's Abused, Neglected, Protected: When Children Go to Court" which was produced by nonprofit Washburn University.
The discussion aired on KPTS Channel 8 on Tuesday Feb 22, 2011

Roberta Sue McKenna works directly under Tanya Keys who is the Director of Children and Family Services.
Why is McKenna misleading the public on time spent in care and making foster care look like a walk in the park?

McKenna said, "64% go home within 12 months.. another substantial percentage go home in less than two years. So most of the children who are removed from their parents custody return to their parents custody.....
(Regarding time spent in care)...less than 12 months.. Just think, if we could all remember how long it took to get to Christmas. How much time there was between birthdays..."


FACTS: The number of Kansas children served in Out of Home Placement in FY2010 was 8,275
The number of Kansas children reunified in FY2010 was 1,720
The total percentage of children reunified in FY2010 was 20%...NOT 64% as McKenna said.

FACTS: Kansas children average length of time in care FY2010 was 19.4 months
Sedgwick County children average length of time in care FY2010 was 30.7 months