Kansas failed, for the fourth straight year, to connect foster children with critical mental health services.
A recent audit of the state’s foster care system found that only 66% of the children got mental health services. That audit also noted that children are moving around to too many different homes, and some parts of the state are worse than others — like Sedgwick County.
Takeaways
- Only 66% of children got mental health treatments, an audit of cases said.
- Auditors will look closer at foster care agencies to see if contractors are failing in their duties, or if the state doesn’t have enough programming.
- Kansas can prevent future audits if it improves child outcomes.
Mike McAllister is the director of children’s community-based services at the South Central Mental Health Counseling Center.
That center, which is headquartered in Butler County, Kansas, currently has more youth patients than ever before. It opened a new clinic in Wichita this year because it has 1,600 patients who drive from a county over for South Central’s services.
It made sense to move into Wichita because there was so much demand, McAllister said, and there are no turf wars when it comes to treating Kansans.
“It would be kind of doing them a disservice if we didn’t have a closer access point for them,” he said. “There’s so many people who need help. This isn’t really a competition for patients.”
The state was sued for poor treatment of foster children in 2018. The lawsuit was settled, and that agreement requires regular audits of the state’s foster care system. Kansas can stop future audits if it improves enough, but it has failed to do so.
The recent settlement report was the fourth straight audit where Kansas failed to meet certain expectations on mental health and stable placements. The repeated failures will now mean stricter oversight of the private companies that run the state’s foster care system.
“Is it a case of an incompetent (foster care agency) who can’t make things work, or is it just that we need to have better programs and better funding?” said Teresa Woody, litigation director with Kansas Appleseed, the group that sued the state in 2018.
Mental health services
The 66% of kids in foster care getting mental health treatment is an improvement from 52% in the previous report, but not close to the 90% treatment goal in the lawsuit settlement.
The state is also moving children to new homes too often. On average, children should only move to 4.4 homes every 1,000 days. Instead, they move 7.24 homes on average every 1,000 days, the settlement report said.
It’s possible those two items are linked, experts tell The Beacon. Children aren’t being treated and families can’t manage their behavioral health needs, so they end up in a new foster home. Maybe some have to spend a night in an office because no homes will take them.
There were 6,147 kids in Kansas foster care on Dec. 31, 2024, the report said. Only 341 of those children were in six or more placements in one year. Notably, 4% of kids in state custody account for 50% of total moves. The Beacon also reported in 2024 that more than 100 children were abandoned by their families because their needs are too high.
Foster care agencies use community services to help children. They usually don’t have a special pool of therapists or additional programs. So if community services are lacking, then social workers will struggle to find placements for children.
A 2022 Kansas Health Institute report said 99 out of 105 counties in the state had a shortage of mental health professionals.
The ratio of mental health providers to Kansans needing care is 470-1. Nationally, that number is 350-1, said Brian Cole, associate professor and director of the training in counseling psychology doctorate program at the University of Kansas.
KU runs a free clinic with graduate students through the counseling and psychology department. Cole said Kansans from all over the state use this service. He isn’t an expert in foster care, but he knows mental health professionals are in short supply.
“I would be shocked to hear if we have enough clinicians,” Cole said.
The state has improved its mental health system, though. In 2023, Mental Health America ranked Kansas 51st in the nation, including Washington, D.C., for mental health response. The state jumped to 22nd in 2024.
Community mental health centers are also seeing more patients. The centers switched to a new certification model to become certified community behavioral health clinics. They can’t turn people away and they have to provide a set number of services. In return, certain Medicaid reimbursement rates for some patients are increased.
A 2024 report said that has led to a 75% increase in patients served.
But experts told The Beacon there’s more work to be done. The state has the Kansas Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, which is working on workforce shortages.
Others suggest looking at licensing could help.
Kansans who have finished a Ph.D. in psychology, for example, need 2,000 more clinical hours to take the licensure exam when compared to Missouri’s requirements.
McAllister, with South Central Mental Health, said he’s heard reports of patients getting treatment. At his center, someone can be treated the same day or the next day. And there’s continued momentum.
“It seems like the investment from the community at large is just so much greater, so much better than I’ve ever seen it,” he said.
State contractors
Woody, with Kansas Appleseed, said a combination of faulty contractors and a lack of services might be to blame for the state’s issues.
But contractors are succeeding at different levels.
Foster care contractor TFI is doing the best to connect children to services, with 94% of children in their south central region getting treatment. Some agencies, like KVC Kansas, have a mixed bag. They are at 87% treatment rates in one part of the state and 59% in another.
Sedgwick County is struggling at 44%.
St. Francis Ministries, the private agency that had the contract for Sedgwick County, was replaced by EmberHope Connections last year.
The report said there’s been an increase in initial mental health screenings with the new contractor.
Erica Case, lead attorney at EmberHope, said there are still waitlists for services. Her agency has identified problem spots, like capacity issues with substance use and mental health programs, and is trying to address them. A reduction in juvenile justice services isn’t helping either.
Foster care contractors have said for years that kids are being diverted from the criminal justice system to foster care. Case said locking up a majority of children isn’t great, but handing them over to foster care agencies without enough investment in rehabilitative services is also bad. She said one glaring need is intensive mentoring programs for youth.
The next version of the lawsuit settlement report could have a clearer answer on whether contractors or state services are at fault. That report isn’t expected until later in 2026.
Case said her agency is doing what they can to address children’s needs, but there are gaps in services.
“Seeing the changes over the last 15 years,” she said, “I definitely see a state that is committed to the children and families of Kansas.”
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