They are the people who respond to concerns about the well-being of Kansas children. The accusations of sexual abuse. The fear that a child is being hurt. Allegations of neglect.

When such a report comes in, Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) social workers are on the front line in one of the most difficult jobs around. Under state law, they have responsibility to act on concerns raised about children's health and safety and work with police and the courts if a child's situation appears to put them in danger. Social workers also help determine what services may be needed for troubled children and their families in order for them to grow and prosper.

The Kansas City Area Office of SRS, which takes in all of Wyandotte County, has recently been cited as an example of how a social services system dedicated to the well-being of Kansas children should be operating. In the latest monitoring report of cases involving SRS's work with children and families, the Kansas City office received high marks. Regular monitoring reports are being done based on a settlement agreement between SRS and Children's Rights Inc. Commonly known as the American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, it concerns the state's foster care system. Legislative Post Audit is responsible for the monitoring reports.

The Kansas City Area's social service chief, Gene Burns, was asked to join a state-level committee assigned by Shawnee County District Judge James Buchele to help bring results similar to Kansas City's to other areas of the state. The committee meets for the first time this week.

SRS Secretary Rochelle Chronister praised the work done in the Kansas City Area Office to bring about timely and complete results on cases involving children and families. She said she understands the pressure social workers and supervisors have been under as the scrutiny of the lawsuit settlement combines with changing roles for workers. SRS has recently privatized jobs previously done by state social workers, including adoption, family preservation, and foster care.

"The work done in Kansas City shows that an effective and efficient system can be put in place," she said. "I want to congratulate the Kansas City office for what they have done for children and families."

Social Service Chief Burns and Kansas City Area Director Eva Whitmire point to a number of reasons they were able to meet meticulous criteria set up to monitor compliance work in the lawsuit settlement. Both said a main reason is that they have been able to significantly decrease the number of children in state custody, thereby maintaining lower case loads for social workers and supervisors. Lower case loads allow workers and supervisors time to complete the paperwork required under the settlement agreement. When case loads are too high, Burns said there is no way they can meet criteria set out in the settlement agreement.

Burns pointed to the Family Agenda for Children and Youth, which early this decade became the guide for social work practice in Kansas. The lawsuit settlement committed the state to monitor implementation of the Family Agenda. One key to the Family Agenda is to move away from using the public welfare system to separate troubled children from their families and use the system to help families stay together whenever possible. It has as it foundation a commitment to support, strengthen and preserve families.

The monthly average of the number of children in custody has dropped significantly in the Kansas City SRS area, from over 1,300 a month in most of 1993 to less than 900 a month today. Such a drop is additionally significant because Wyandotte County has one of the highest rates of poverty in the state.

"We work really hard getting services to families," Burns said. "We were not going to meet the (settlement agreement) guidelines unless we got the custody rates down. I like to see our workers losing sleep over taking a child out of their home as much as they lose sleep over leaving a child in their home. When we pick up a child, the first thing I ask is "is there anything you could have done to prevent it?'"

Whitmire, the Kansas City Area Director, said they worked a lot with the Kansas City community to help them realize that no family is perfect, and children still grow well.

"Ozzie and Harriet was a myth; we tried to sell the community on the fact we do not expect families to live a myth," she said. "We try to let families build on their own strengths."

Whitmire and Burns said they were able to work with the Kansas City community on implementing the Family Agenda. This was seconded by Linda Hobbs, director of Children in Need of Care cases for Wyandotte County Juvenile Court Services. Hobbs praised the work done by the Kansas City SRS office in adoption and family preservation prior to privatization of those services. She expects this good work to continue under privatization.

"They had more kids getting adopted in a timely manner," she said. "With that, they were able to manage the number of children in custody and it freed up more workers to deal with children coming in the front door."

Between June, 1994 and October, 1996, the Kansas City Area adoption unit helped finalize 202 adoptions.

Hobbs, who has worked with Wyandotte County court services for 17 years, also said the work of family preservation, both by SRS staff before privatization and by private agencies under contract, also helped reduce the number of children in custody and keep children and families together. Family Preservation involves intense, short-term work with families in the family home.

Terry Showalter, Wyandotte County Court Service Supervisor, said his office is often involved with Kansas City SRS officials in intense and sometimes emotional cases involving troubled children.

"The thing we appreciate most of all is the willingness of Gene and Eva and the workers to continue to be at the table and to continue to plug away at very complex issues," he said. "The appreciation and respect we have for them is really, really high."

A number of social workers in the Kansas City office said getting good results from the monitoring report required a very high level of teamwork among staff. They talked about paperwork being sent from one to the other to check and double check that everything was filled out correctly.

"You can't just say I'm doing my job and my job only," said Janice Lambert, a social worker.

Social workers also compared this teamwork to the work of social workers in general, who must depend on each other in dealing with children and families. The nature of the job often is dealing with crisis after crisis.

"It's a juggling act," said Lambert.

Area director Whitmire said the commitment of SRS staff to meeting the criteria in the settlement agreement has been key.

"Whatever success any agency has really has to come from the workers, both professional and paraprofessional," she said. "Our success has to go back to our staff, and to Gene's leadership."

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001