Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Rochelle Chronister today announced the three Kansas-based, not-for-profit child placing agencies now operating the state's privatized foster care system have been awarded second-year contracts.

Under last year's contract award, the state could renew the contracts with the agencies for three additional years or open the contracts up for bid. SRS chose to renew the contracts without major changes. The new contract year began February 1.

Kaw Valley Center Inc., based in Kansas City, will continue providing a comprehensive foster care system for children placed in state custody in eastern and southeastern Kansas, including Kansas City, Lawrence, Emporia, Olathe, and Chanute. The Kansas Children's Service League, based in Wichita, will continue providing foster care services in central Kansas, including Topeka, Salina, and Manhattan. United Methodists Youthville Inc., based in Newton, will continue providing foster care services in the Wichita and Hutchinson areas, along with Garden City, Hays and western Kansas.

SRS Secretary Rochelle Chronister, who last week announced a major contract for an outside review of all children's child welfare programs, said she believes the partnership between SRS and these Kansas-based child placing agencies is working.

"We believe the partnership we have formed with these Kansas agencies is providing the services Kansas children and families need," she said. "During the first year, there were several transition issues that had to be addressed, and some will continue to need attention. But as with any major system change like the one we have undertaken, it does take time to work out unexpected problems that arise."

Within the last two years, SRS have privatized three major children's programs -- foster care, adoption and family preservation.

The foster care contracts for year two are essentially the same as year one. For eastern and southeastern Kansas, SRS will pay Kaw Valley $13,240 per child case, which is up from $12,860. In central Kansas, SRS will pay Kansas Children's Service League $14,876 per child case, down from $15,504 last year. And in western Kansas and Wichita, the per child case rate for United Methodist Youthville was set at $13,943, up from $13,550 last year.

The only major difference in the contracts for year two involves paying outside the case rate for up to 3 percent of each area's foster care caseload. In other words, for up to 3 percent of children who have special needs in each area, SRS will pay the contractors on a fee-for-service basis rather than at the contracted rate.

The outside the case rate arrangement is similar to the contract SRS has for the privatized adoption services with Lutheran Social Services Inc. Some children have extraordinary needs and the cost to provide for those needs may go well over the case rate established for most children.

Teresa Markowitz, SRS Commissioner of Children and Family Services, said the work to date by the foster care contractors has been good.

Markowitz said most outcome measures established with the foster care contracts have been excellent. These outcome measures include placing children in foster care as close as possible to their home, placing sibling groups together, and very low rates of confirmed abuse and neglect for children in foster care. Markowitz said two other outcome measures -- children returning home within 180 days of placement and older youth released from custody earning a high school or General Equivalency Development degree or being involved in job training have been more problematic for contractors.

"For the most part, however, outcomes have been positive," Markowitz said. "We continue to address issues as they come up, and we will continue to do so."

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001