Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Rochelle Chronister today announced that Lutheran Social Service of Kansas and Oklahoma Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide adoption services across Kansas.

Based in Wichita, Lutheran Social Service is a private, not-for-profit agency that has been serving children in the state since 1879. Under the contract, the agency will take over all adoption services previously provided by SRS beginning Oct. 1. They will subcontract with a number of other private, not-for-profit agencies to provide adoption services statewide.

Privatization of adoption services is the second of three moves being made by the SRS Commission on Children and Families to privatize services for children and families previously provided by the state. Contracts for the delivery of Family Preservation Services were awarded

March 19 for implementation July 1. A Requests for Proposal (RFP) for foster care services went out in late June for implementation early next year.

Under terms of the adoption services contract, Lutheran Social Services will assume management of the entire range of adoption services, including the state adoption resource exchange. SRS will refer children to Lutheran Social Service for adoption services. SRS will also act as the program manager for adoption services, maintaining an oversight role to make sure terms of the contact are maintained. Secretary Chronister said SRS has been working in partnership with Lutheran Social Service in purchasing children and family services for years. She said she expects this successful partnership to continue as the Lutheran Social Service takes over adoption services.

Our goal is to improve the process that provides children a family of their own," she said. As a state agency, we will act as program manager and let the private sector work directly with children and families to improve the adoption process."

Under terms of the contract, Lutheran Social Service is to provide the following:

*a full array of services to meet the needs of all children with parental rights terminated who are referred to them by SRS;

*a statewide system of adoptive family recruitment;

*services before, during, and after adoptions to children and families;

*a statewide Adoption Resource Exchange which can interface with the National Resource Exchange; and

*a statewide safety net" of substitute homes for children whose adoptive placements disrupt prior to adoption finalization.

Bernice Karstensen, executive director of Lutheran Social Service, said the awarding of the contract provides her agency and other agencies working with special needs children a wonderful opportunity to form a partnership with the state and among themselves.

This gives us the opportunity to do the very best job possible for children waiting for permanent homes," she said.

The subcontractors expected for adoption services include Kansas Families for Kids (KFFK), which is part of a nationwide initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation working to give children a voice in reframing adoption. Working under Lutheran Social Service, KFFK will receive referrals from SRS and send information about those referrals to the agency that can best provide the adoption services needed.

SRS currently places between 325 and 425 children a year. The vast majority of the children available for adoption through the state were removed from their own home due to abuse or neglect or both. Often, these children need on-going counseling or therapy to help them deal with the separation from significant caretakers and the effect of abuse and neglect. In addition, nearly 90 percent of the children taken into state custody have special needs, including medical, physical, mental or emotional handicaps.

Teresa Markowitz, SRS commissioner of Children and Family Services, pointed out that the contract between SRS and Lutheran Social Service contains outcome measures to which the contractor is expected to adhere.

These include timely child placements and adoption finalizations'; reports of satisfaction concerning the adoption process from families involved; working toward placing sibling groups with the same adoptive family; and working toward keeping children in the same foster care placement pending adoption.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001