SESSION OF 2021
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 85
As Amended by Senate Committee on Public
Health and Welfare

Brief*
SB 85, as amended, would require a foster care case
management contractor (contractor) under contract with the
Department for Children and Families (DCF) to notify DCF
within an established time frame whenever a child in foster
care has gone missing or spent any overnight period in a
location not licensed as a placement for foster youth. The bill
would establish time frames and actions that would be
required to be taken, should the contractor notify DCF of the
missing child or overnight stay at a non-licensed location. The
bill would also establish fines on the contractor and authorize
DCF to adopt rules and regulations.

Contractor Notice to DCF
A contractor would be required to notify DCF within a
time period established by DCF, not to exceed 24 hours, of
any time the contractor knows or has reason to know that a
child in foster care, for whom the contractor has case
management responsibility, has gone missing or spent any
overnight period in a location not licensed as a placement for
foster youth.
A contractor’s report to DCF of a missing child in foster
care for whom the contractor has responsibility would be
required to include:
● Age and sex of the child;
____________________
*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
 ● Location where the child went missing;
● If a different placement was previously determined
to be more appropriate for the child but was
unavailable for any reason; and
● Any other information required by DCF.
A contractor’s report to DCF regarding any child who
spent an overnight period in a location not licensed as a
placement for foster youth would be required to include the
reasons the child spent such overnight period in such facility.

DCF Report and Notice Requirement
DCF would be required to prepare an annual report to
the Legislature summarizing data, outcomes, and trends
related to children gone missing or who spent any overnight
period in a location not licensed as a placement for foster
youth. The report would outline DCF efforts to meet the
needs of these children and make any recommendations to
the Legislature to improve outcomes for these children.
After receiving a contractor’s notice of a missing child in
foster care or a child in foster care who spent any overnight
period in a location not licensed as a placement for foster
youth, DCF would be required to notify:
● The Governor, within 24 hours of receiving such
notice; and
● Each member of the Legislature and the official
newspaper of the county where the child went
missing or, if there is not an official newspaper in
the county, a newspaper of general circulation in
such county, within 48 hours of receiving such
notice.

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Contractor Fines
The bill would also require DCF to assess a $500 fine
against a contractor for each day the contractor fails to report
as required in the bill. The assessed fines received by DCF
would be deposited in the State General Fund (SGF).

Rules and Regulations
The bill would authorize DCF to adopt rules and
regulations as necessary to implement and administer the
provisions of the bill.

Background
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Public Health and Welfare.

Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare
In the Senate Committee hearing, a representative of
the Children’s Alliance of Kansas testified as a proponent.
The proponent stated the bill would codify existing policies
and procedures for contractors.
A DCF representative provided neutral testimony. The
representative stated DCF already accomplishes some of the
notification and monitoring requirements the bill would
require. Under the current DCF policy, any time a contractor
learns a child in DCF custody is missing from their placement,
the contractor is required to report this information to DCF
within two hours of the contractor being informed of the
child’s missing status. Upon notification, the Secretary for
Children and Families must notify law enforcement and the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as
outlined in KSA 2020 Supp. 38-2289.

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 A representative of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
provided opponent testimony. The opponent conferee
expressed concern this bill would be interpreted to supersede
current DCF policy, which requires law enforcement report a
missing child immediately.
The Senate Committee amended the requirement
conditions established by the bill. The bill, as introduced,
would have required a contractor to notify DCF if a child spent
any overnight period in a facility under the control of the
contractor. The Committee amended the bill to require a
contractor to notify DCF if a child spent any overnight period
in a location not licensed as a placement for foster youth.
The Senate Committee also amended the bill to remove
a requirement that DCF would have to add to a child’s
notification report which of the top five recommendations, if
any, by the Child Welfare System Task Force have been
implemented or addressed by the Legislature to instead
require DCF to prepare an annual report to the Legislature
summarizing data, outcomes, and trends related to children
who have gone missing or who have spent any overnight
period in a location not licensed as a placement for foster
youth; outlining DCF efforts to meet the needs of these
children; and making any recommendations to the Legislature
to improve outcomes for these children.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill as introduced, DCF indicates the bill
would have no fiscal effect on agency operations. According
to the DCF, much of the monitoring that would be required by
the bill is already being done. DCF assumes reporting
information to newspapers would have no additional cost.
DCF also indicates the fiscal effect of the $500 fines imposed
on contractors is not possible to estimate at this time.


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 Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2022 Governor’s Budget Report.
Foster care; Department for Children and Families; case management; missing
foster youth; reporting; Legislature


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