SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2070
As Recommended by Senate Committee on
Judiciary

Brief*
Senate Sub. for HB 2070 would enact the Child
Advocate Act (Act) on and after July 1, 2023, which would
establish the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) as an
independent state agency. The bill would also amend law in
the Revised Kansas Code for Care of Children (CINC Code)
and the Revised Kansas Juvenile Justice Code (Juvenile
Code) concerning various related provisions.
[Note: The amendments to current law would be
effective upon publication in the Kansas Register unless a
different effective date is specified.]
Child Advocate Act (Sections 1–6)
The bill would state the Act’s provisions would be
effective on and after July 1, 2023.
Definitions
The Act would define the following terms:
● “Office” would mean the OCA and would include
the Child Advocate and staff;
● “Child” would mean an individual less than 18
years of age at the time such individual:
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 ○ Is in the custody of the Secretary for Children
and Families (Secretary);
○ Was previously in the custody of the
Secretary;
○ Is alleged to be a child in need of care; or
○ Is or was receiving services from the
Department for Children and Families (DCF)
or any contracting agency, for whom DCF has
an open case file, or who has been, or whose
siblings, parents, or other caretakers have
been the subject of a report of abuse or
neglect to DCF within the previous five years.

Establishment of Office of the Child Advocate; Selection and
Appointment of Child Advocate
The Child Advocate would be established as the
independent head of the OCA, and the bill would specify
nothing in the Act would be construed to permit any
governmental agency to exercise control or supervision over
the Child Advocate or the OCA. The Child Advocate would be
appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the
Senate.
The bill would require the Child Advocate to be selected
without regard to political affiliation and on the basis of
integrity and capacity for effectively carrying out the duties of
the OCA. The bill would prohibit any former or current
executive or manager of any program or agency or
contracting agency subject to oversight by the OCA from
being appointed as Child Advocate within 12 months of such
individual’s period of service within the program or agency.
The Child Advocate would serve a term of five years or
until a successor has been appointed and confirmed. The
Child Advocate would be in the unclassified service and
receive an annual salary equal to that of a district court judge.

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The bill would require the Child Advocate exercise
independent judgment in carrying out the duties of the office.
The bill would specify the Child Advocate would have
general managerial control over the OCA and would be
required to establish the organizational structure of the OCA
as appropriate to carry out the responsibilities and functions
of the OCA.
The bill would provide that all budgeting, purchasing,
personnel, and related administrative functions of the OCA
would be administered under the direction and supervision of
the Child Advocate.
Within the limits of appropriations, the Child Advocate
could hire unclassified employees necessary to administer
the OCA who would serve at the pleasure of the Child
Advocate. The Child Advocate could obtain the services of
other professionals necessary to independently perform the
functions of the OCA, including obtaining legal services from
the Attorney General as provided elsewhere in statute. The
Child Advocate could enter into agreements with the
Secretary of Administration for the provision of personnel,
facility management, and information technology services.
Purpose of the Child Advocate
The bill would identify the purpose of the Child Advocate
is to ensure that children and families receive adequate
coordination of child welfare services for child maltreatment
prevention, protection, and care through services offered by:
● DCF or its contracting agencies;
● Kansas Department for Aging and Disability
Services (KDADS);
● Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC);

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 ● Kansas Department of Health and Environment
(KDHE); and
● Juvenile courts.
Duties and Powers of the OCA and the Child Advocate
The bill would require the OCA to:
● Receive and resolve complaints that allege that
DCF or DCF’s contracting agencies by act or
omission have:
○ Provided inadequate protection or care of
children;
○ Failed to protect the physical or mental health,
safety, or welfare of any child; or
○ Failed to follow established laws, rules, and
regulations or written policies.

The bill would require the Child Advocate to:
● Establish and implement procedures for receiving,
processing, responding to, and resolving
complaints made by or on behalf of children that
adversely or may adversely affect the health,
safety, and welfare of such children that relate to:
○ State agencies;
○ Service providers, including contractors and
subcontractors; and
○ Any juvenile court.
● Provide DCF with a notice of availability that
describes the OCA and how to contact the OCA,
which DCF would be required to prominently
display in DCF offices and facilities receiving public
moneys for the care and placement of children;

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 ● Maintain a public website;
● Publicize and notify individuals of the OCA’s
services, purpose, and contact information;
● Compile, collect, and preserve a record of
complaints received and processed, which may
reveal concerning patterns to be addressed; and
● Recommend changes to policies, procedures, or
adopted or proposed rules and regulations of any
state or local agency that adversely affect or may
adversely affect the health, safety, and welfare of
any child.
OCA Investigations
The OCA would be required to independently investigate
complaints received if the OCA reasonably believes the
complaint’s allegations may be independently verified through
an investigation. In conducting such investigations, the OCA
would be required to:
● Establish and implement procedures for
investigating complaints;
● Have access to the following information:
○ Names and physical locations of all children in
protective services, treatment, or other
program under the jurisdiction of DCF or
KDOC;
○ All written reports of child abuse and neglect;
○ All records of any public or private agency or
institution having custody of the child under
court order, providing education, medical or
mental health services to the child, or any
placement or potential placement provider
determined by the Secretary; and

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 ○ All current records required to be maintained
as provided in the CINC Code and the
Juvenile Code;
● Communicate privately with:
○ Any child or child’s siblings, after consultation
with treatment professionals and service
providers; and
○ Anyone working the child, including the family,
relatives, employees of DCF, employees of
KDOC, and other persons or entities providing
treatment and services;
● Have access to, including the right to inspect and
copy, relevant child records held by:
○ Law enforcement agencies;
○ The clerk of any Kansas court;
○ Juvenile officers;
○ Public or private institutions; and
○ Other agencies with whom a particular child
has been voluntarily or otherwise placed for
care or has received treatment within Kansas
or in another state;
● Work in conjunction with:
○ Juvenile intake and assessment workers;
○ Juvenile community corrections officers;
○ Guardians ad litem; and
○ Court-appointed special advocates; and
● Subpoena materials or witnesses, take statements
under oath, serve interrogatories, and obtain
judicial enforcement of compulsory processes.


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Complaint Resolution by the OCA
The bill would require the OCA to resolve complaints by:
● Establishing and implementing procedures to
resolve the complaints;
● Independently reviewing the complaint and
accompanying documents;
● Recommending the appropriate agency or
department do one of the following:
○ Review the matter further;
○ Modify or cancel the actions;
○ Change a rule, order, or internal policy;
○ Explain the action further; or
○ Within a reasonable amount of time, provide
the OCA information as to the implementation
or not of the recommendation by the
appropriate agency or department;
● Submitting any findings and recommendations to
DCF or KDOC as appropriate;
● Making referrals of child abuse or neglect to law
enforcement agencies if there is reason to believe
a criminal investigation is warranted and notifying
the Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Unit of the
Office of the Attorney General; and
● Producing reports of findings of fact or conclusions
of law regarding any complaint, and if appropriate,
the Attorney General could file such reports in any
pending CINC case on behalf of the OCA.


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Child Welfare System Oversight Assistance
The bill would outline the actions the OCA may take to
assist the Legislature in oversight of the child welfare system.
The OCA could:
● Meet and discuss any matter in the scope of the
Act with the Joint Committee on Child Welfare
System Oversight in regular or executive session
under applicable duties of confidentiality;
● Review relevant statutes, rules and regulations,
policies and procedures for the health, safety, and
welfare of children;
● Evaluate the effectiveness of and recommend
changes to procedures for reports of child abuse
and neglect for child protective services, including,
but not limited to, the involvement of DCF, service
providers, guardians ad litem, court appointed
special advocates, and law enforcement agencies;
and
● Review and recommend changes to law
enforcement investigative procedures for and
emergency responses to reports of abuse and
neglect.
Annual Report
The bill would require the Child Advocate, on or before
the beginning of each regular Legislative Session, to submit
an annual report to the Governor, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court and the Office of Judicial Administration,
Secretary for Children and Families, President of the Senate,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Joint Committee
on Child Welfare Oversight, House Committee on Child
Welfare and Foster Care (or successor committee), Senate
Committee on Public Health and Welfare (or successor
committee), and any other relevant legislative committee.
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 The reports would be required to include the following
items:
● The number of complaints received by the OCA;
● The disposition of the complaints;
● The number of children involved in such
complaints;
● The outcome of such complaints;
● Recommendations for changes in statute, policies,
procedures, or rules and regulations;
● The OCA’s proposed annual budget; and
● Any other topics the OCA deems appropriate to
properly perform the powers, duties, and functions
provided by the Act.
Cooperation by State Agencies With the OCA
The bill would require DCF and its contracting agencies,
KDOC, juvenile intake and assessment workers, juvenile
community corrections officers, guardians ad litem, and court
appointed special advocates to cooperate with the OCA and:
● Work diligently, promptly, and in good faith to assist
the OCA in performing its powers, duties, and
functions provided by the Act;
● Provide full access to and production of records
and information requested by the OCA. Such
access would not be a violation of confidentiality if
provided and produced in good faith for the
purposes of the Act;


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 ● Require employees and contractors of such
department or agency to comply with requests from
the OCA;
● Allow employees of such department or agency to
file a complaint with or provide records or
information to the OCA without supervisory
approval;
● Not willfully interfere with or obstruct any of the
OCA’s duties; and
● Promptly meet and consult with the OCA upon
request.
Confidentiality
The bill would state the OCA would be subject to the
same state and federal statutory disclosure restrictions and
confidentiality requirements applicable to the state agency or
other entity providing information to the OCA, with regard to
the information received from the agency or other entity.
Any files maintained by the OCA would be confidential
and disclosed only at the discretion of the Child Advocate,
except that the identity of any complainant or child would not
be disclosed by the OCA unless the complainant or child, or
either’s legal representative, consents in writing to such
disclosure; or such disclosure is required by court order.
The bill would provide that any statement or
communication made by the OCA relevant to a complaint
being investigated by the OCA and any complaint or
information made or provided in good faith by any person
would be absolutely privileged, and the person would be
immune from suit.
The bill would prohibit a representative of the OCA
conducting or participating in any investigation of a complaint
from knowingly disclosing to any person other than the OCA,
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or a person authorized by the OCA, the name of any witness
examined or any information obtained or given during such
investigation. Such disclosure would be a class A nonperson
misdemeanor.
The bill would require the OCA, after conducting or
participating in any investigation of a complaint, to disclose
the final result of the investigation with the consent of the
child or the child’s legal representative.
The OCA could not be required to testify in any court
with respect to matters held to be confidential in this section,
except as the court may deem necessary to enforce the
provisions of the Act or when otherwise required by court
order.
The bill would state the provisions providing for
confidentiality of records would expire on July 1, 2028, unless
the Legislature reviews and reenacts the provisions, pursuant
to the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), prior to July 1,
2028.
Retaliation; Prohibited Actions
Any person who knowingly takes “retaliatory action,” as
defined in the bill, against a child, DCF employee, an
employee of contracting agencies of DCF, or KDOC
employee for any communication made or information given
to the OCA would be guilty of a class A nonperson
misdemeanor, except when an employee discloses:
● Information the employee knows to be false or
information without regard for the truth or falsity of
the information; or
● Without lawful authority, information that is
confidential as provided by any other provision of
law.

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 Employees of the OCA would be prohibited from
knowingly disclosing false information or disclosing
confidential information without legal authority.
Amendments to CINC Code (Sections 7–14)
Jurisdiction of ICWA (Section 7)
The bill would amend law governing jurisdiction of
proceedings under the CINC Code to specify if orders
granting custody for adoption involve a child who is Indian,
the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) would apply
instead of the CINC Code.
Access to Information (Section 8–10)
The bill would amend statutes to add the OCA to the list
of entities with access to official files, social files, information
from agency records, information in law enforcement records,
records of law enforcement officers and agencies,