JOINT COMMITTEE

Report of the
Joint Committee on Children’s Issues
to the
2009 Kansas Legislature
CHAIRPERSON: Senator Julia Lynn

VICE-CHAIRPERSON: Representative Mike Kiegerl

OTHER MEMBERS: Senators David Haley, Laura Kelly, Roger Reitz, and Susan Wagle; and
Representatives Marti Crow, Brenda Landwehr, Bill Otto, and Sue Storm

STUDY TOPICS
The Committee is directed statutorily to study children’s issues the Committee deems necessary.

LCC REFERRED TOPIC

Child Care Licensing. Study child care licensing in Kansas. Review whether the present
system is providing the flexibility to meet the needs of working parents, while protecting the
safety of children in Kansas. Review the estimated need of child care slots as compared to
available child care slots. Also study: (1) increasing the number of before school and after
school children allowed when more than one adult provider is present; (2) adjusting regulations
which apply to siblings as they contribute to the total number of children allowed over five
years of age when there is more than one adult provider present; (3) increasing the number of
children allowed over five years of age when there is more than one provider and one of the
providers is a certified teacher or a pediatric or registered nurse; (4) encouraging the expansion
of the role of schools, cities, and counties in operating child care facilities for the community if
no state funds are involved; (5) expanding the role of schools, cities, and counties in operating
child care facilities if they meet Kansas Department of Health and Environment standards; and
(6) offering tax or other business incentives to individuals or businesses which are interested
in starting child care facilities or upgrading to certain high child care standards.

June 2009
 Joint Committee on Children’s Issues
CHILD CARE LICENSING

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee recognizes the need for additional resources to assist parents of children with an
autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Committee therefore supports the legislation that will be
introduced by the Legislative Educational Planning Committee (LEPC) to mandate insurance
coverage for individuals with autism.

The Committee expresses concern over lengthy Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)
waiting lists. However, the Committee also acknowledges the current revenue situation for the
State of Kansas. Until additional funding can be added to reduce the waiting lists, the Committee
recommends further study of whether individuals could be allowed to pay for HCBS services
out-of-pocket without having their names removed from the waiting list.

The Committee expresses concern regarding the use and definition of the term “supervision”
as it relates to child care providers. The Committee looks forward to the results of the in-depth
review by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) “Best” Team regarding
this and other issues related to child care. It is anticipated that the “Best” Team’s report will be
submitted to the Legislature by January 2009.

As part of the “Best” Team review process for foster care and family preservation services, the
Committee requests the Team focus specifically on the relative roles of KDHE and the Department
of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) to ensure adequate coordination between the two
agencies.

The Committee requests that it be allowed to meet during the 2009 Legislative Session to review
further the issues it has examined during the 2008 Interim.

Proposed Legislation: The Committee does not have authority to propose legislation.

BACKGROUND program to the Joint Committee on Health

The Joint Committee on Children’s Issues
was created in 1998 as part of legislation enacting
the state children’s health insurance program,
known as HealthWave in Kansas. In 2008, SB 81
was enacted, which transferred the Committee’s
responsibility for overseeing the implementation
and operation of the children’s health insurance
Policy Oversight. As currently specified in KSA
46-3001, the Joint Committee on Children’s
Issues is responsible for addressing children’s
issues as the Committee deems necessary.
For the 2008 interim the Legislative
Coordinating Council (LCC) requested the
Committee review child care licensing in the

Kansas Legislative Research Department 6-3 2008 Children’s Issues

state. In addition to the topic referred by the
LCC, the Committee addressed issues related to
autism and foster care.
COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
The Committee was granted four meeting
days for the 2008 Interim. It met on November
10, December 9-10, and December 19, 2008.
The Committee meetings and deliberations are
summarized below.
Children with Autism and the Public
Schools. The Committee received presentations
from three school districts - Olathe-USD
233, Blue Valley-USD 229, and Shawnee
Mission-USD 512. Officials from the three
school districts provided information on the
services for children with autism. Two of the
school districts invited a parent of a child with
an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to speak as
well. The district representatives and the parents
described an array of services which, they said,
had improved over time.
Individuals representing the Kansas State
Department of Education (KSDE) and the Kansas
Instructional Support Network (KISN) then gave
an overview of (1) special education services for
children from age three to twenty-one, and (2)
various aspects of services to children with an
ASD across Kansas. Both noted improvements
in services have been made in various areas
across the state, with significant improvement in
training, but gaps still exist.
Dr. Bill Craig, Chairman of the Kansas
Autism Task Force (KATF), emphasized the
need for early diagnosis and intervention for
children with an ASD. The opportunity for these
children to lead normal or near-normal lives is
missed without early diagnosis and intervention.
Dr. Craig also provided the Committee with
the KATF 2008 final report. Finally, Dr. Craig
explained the need for the KATF to be extended
beyond its December 31, 2008 expiration date.
Kansas Legislative Research Department
Dr. Mike Wasmer, KATF Member,
summarized Kate’s Law, a bill proposed by
the KATF which would mandate insurance
coverage for autism-related care. The bill will
be introduced by the LEPC. Dr. Wasmer then
spoke about his experience as the parent of a
child with autism, for whom the bill was named.
Other parents testified as well (including two
additional KATF members), summarizing their
problematic experiences. Some of the issues
centered around (1) a perceived reluctance on
the part of school personnel to acknowledge
that a student with an Individualized Education
Plan (IEP) needed a particular service, since
services deemed necessary must be provided to
students with IEPs; (2) the need for diagnostic
and treatment services in several areas of the
state; and (3) the need for and benefit of early
intervention.
Individuals with Autism and Transition
from High School to Adulthood. The
Committee heard from several parents and young
people with an ASD, who provided testimony
about their experiences in the transition process.
A number of concerns were expressed, among
them the following:
● The long waiting list for services allowed
through the HCBS waiver for individuals
with a developmental disability (HCBS/
DD waiver). According to statistics cited in
the 2008 KATF final report, the combined
waiting list (for unserved as well as
underserved individuals) is approximately
3,000 individuals. One parent testified
that her adult child would lose many, if not
most, of the skills he had received while in
school during his impending wait for these
services;
● The inflexibility of the HCBS waiver system.
A parent testified she had inquired about
paying for some of the services offered while
her adult child spent time on the waiting list.
She was told that, if she chose to pay, her
child’s name would be removed from the
6-4 2008 Children’s Issues
 waiting list. The Committee asked for a
summary of laws, either federal or state or
both, which have resulted in this situation;
and
● The lack of transition services in some areas
of the state. One parent testified that no
services were available to assist individuals
with an ASD in western Kansas.
Child Care Licensing. Presentations on
various aspects of the licensing and regulatory
processes at the state, county and city levels were
provided by KDHE and the Johnson County
and City of Wichita health departments. Issues
covered included the need for additional surveyors
and more surveyor training. The Committee also
heard from Dr. Dennis Cooley, Chairman of the
Governor’s Child Health Advisory Committee,
regarding safe sleep practices for infants with
the goal of reducing the incidence of Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome. A number of child care
providers then testified regarding safety aspects
of child care licensing standards.
A parent, whose child was fatally injured
while in a licensed child care home, testified
before the Committee for the second time about
her concerns with the licensing and regulatory
system. She summarized her concern by stating
the definition of the term “supervision” should be
reviewed and revised. Her infant child received
her fatal injuries while on a floor level of the
home separate from where her caregiver was
attending to other matters.
Use of Foster Care/Adoption Versus
Family Preservation Services. The purpose of
the meeting was to air concerns held by a number
of parents and grandparents of children who
had been removed from their homes. Included
among a number of concerns in this testimony
were claims that children had been raped
while in foster care; allegations and evidence
of sexual abuse by a parent was being ignored
by SRS and the court; and expert evaluations
regarding a parent’s or grandparent’s ability to
Kansas Legislative Research Department
be reunited with their child or grandchild were
being disregarded by officials.
The meeting began with presentations by
representatives of the Department of Social and
Rehabilitation Services (SRS), KDHE, child
welfare contractors, and the district courts. The
Committee received a broad overview of the
state foster care system, as well as the court’s
perspective on the problems facing those charged
with addressing the problems that lead to the
need for the foster and Child In Need of Care
system. Following the testimony by parents and
grandparents, the Secretary of SRS responded
to several of the remarks that had been made.
While stating that he was unable to address the
details of any case in detail, he indicated that
other factors frequently complicated the cases
and that criminal wrongdoings on the part of
SRS employees have been and would be dealt
with when the wrongdoings were discovered and
substantiated.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee recognizes the need for
additional resources to assist parents of children
with an ASD. The Committee therefore supports
the legislation that will be introduced by the LEPC
to mandate insurance coverage for individuals
with autism.
The Committee expresses concern over
lengthy HCBS waiting lists. However, the
Committee also acknowledges the current
revenue situation for the State of Kansas. Until
additional funding can be added to reduce the
waiting list, the Committee recommends further
study of whether individuals could be allowed
to pay for HCBS services out-of-pocket without
having their names removed from the waiting
list.
The Committee expresses concern regarding
the use and definition of the term “supervision” as
it relates to child care providers. The Committee
6-5 2008 Children’s Issues
looks forward to the results of the in-depth
review of the KDHE “Best” Team regarding
this and other issues related to child care, which
reportedly are expected in January 2009.

As part of the “Best” Team review process for

foster care and family preservation services, the
Committee requests the Team focus specifically
on the relative roles of KDHE and SRS to
ensure adequate coordination between the two
agencies.

The Committee requests that it be allowed

to meet during the 2009 Legislative Session to
review further the issues it examined during the
2008 Interim.

Kansas Legislative Research Department 6-6 2008 Children’s Issues