Settlement agreement to improve conditions for Kansas children in foster care Featured
A federal judge has approved a settlement agreement that should improve conditions for foster children across Kansas.
McIntyre v. Howard was filed in November 2018 by Kansas Appleseed, the National Center for Youth Law, Childrens Rights and Lori Burns-Bucklew against DCF, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. Kansas Appleseed Director Jami Reever tells KVOE News the settlement should improve conditions for foster children. She says the current system is broken and hasn t been serving the best interests of children for years.
Associated Press
TOPEKA A federal judge approved on Thursday a settlement that aims to fix problems in the child welfare system in Kansas.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree said in his ruling that the agreement provides “real value” to the more than 7,000 children in the foster care system. The judge said it addresses needs identified in the lawsuit an end to extreme housing disruption and inadequate mental health care.
While the settlement brings an end to the litigation, Crabtree retained jurisdiction to ensure that it is enforced.
The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2018 by Kansas Appleseed, Lori Burns-Bucklew, Children’s Rights and the National Center for Youth Law against the Kansas Department for Children and Families and others.
Wichita police say dealing with criminal kids has gotten harder since 2016 reforms Amy Renee Leiker, The Wichita Eagle
Jan. 24 A woman and her two daughters woke up to a burglar rifling through their home. Another got doused with mace during a brazen carjacking attempt at a strip mall. A third, 82, suffered head injuries when three intruders who ransacked her home shoved her before taking her car for a joyride.
In another case, an unsuspecting employee got a note from a would-be robber claiming he had a bomb on him.
These attacks, all allegedly committed by 13- and 14-year-olds in Wichita over the past year, offer a glimpse into a new wave of juvenile crime local authorities say they re having a difficult time dealing with. Frustrated with law changes it contends has made officers jobs harder, the Wichita Police Department has taken time lately to highlight offenses committed by kids in the hopes legislators and residents would take notice.