ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Access to foster homes is a critical need, and Kansas has officially joined a new initiative to help.
Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Kansas has joined the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) ‘A Home for Every Child’ initiative to improve the ratio of foster homes to children in Kansas and across the country.
Gov. Kelly made the announcement alongside federal officials from ACF and the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). Kansas is also the first state to receive ACF approval for its ‘A Home for Every Child’ plan.
“This initiative underscores my administration’s work to strengthen Kansas’ child welfare system by expanding support for foster children and families,” Gov. Kelly noted in a release from the State of Kansas. “By taking steps to eliminate barriers to safe, reliable foster homes, we’re setting more Kansas children up for long-term success and empowering them to live full, thriving lives in comfortable and supportive environments. According to ACF, nationwide there are only 57 homes for every 100 children entering foster care. The ‘A Home for Every Child’ initiative aims to achieve a foster-home-to-child ratio of at least 1:1 nationwide through effective collaboration with states, which includes cutting bureaucratic red tape, improved data collection and reporting, new incentives, support for kin-first placements, and more.”
"The Administration for Children and Families is grateful for the bipartisan support behind A Home for Every Child, and we are confident Gov. Kelly’s leadership will continue to deliver meaningful reforms to child welfare that protect children and keep families together when possible,” Assistant Secretary Alex Adams, Administration for Children and Families, noted in the State of Kansas release. “By joining A Home for Every Child, Kansas is focusing on what matters most while allowing its caseworkers to spend more time actually serving children and families across the state rather than filling out federal paperwork."
ACF offered states the ability to voluntarily transition from existing Child and Family Services Review Program Improvement Plans into the ‘A Home for Every Child’ pilot framework.
“This shift enables Kansas to become more outcome focused and relies on data-driven accountability,” the State of Kansas release noted. “As the seventh state to join ‘A Home for Every Child,’ Kansas has the opportunity to engage early, contribute to federal learning, and modernize performance improvement efforts while maintaining accountability for safety, permanency, and well-being.”
“We’re proud to partner in this opportunity to further achieve meaningful outcomes for Kansas families. This effort provides flexibility for innovative approaches alongside families through targeted, practical measures that reflect our state’s goals to prevent and reduce the need for foster care,” Secretary Laura Howard, Kansas Department for Children and Families, noted in the State of Kansas release. “Every child deserves safety, stability, and a sense of community—and every family deserves the support needed to thrive.”
Additional information about ACF’s ‘A Home for Every Child’ initiative can be found at https://acf.gov/a-home-for-every-child.
