By ANDY MARSO

The Kansas Department for Children and Families announced major changes to its standards for substantiating child abuse Tuesday. But lawmakers want more reform of a privatized foster care system they say is failing to protect children.

DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore announced that the agency will begin using a “preponderance of the evidence” as the standard for substantiating a child abuse claim rather than the more stringent “clear and convincing evidence.”

The change comes after the Wichita Eagle and Topeka Capital-Journal reported on children who were injured or died after multiple reports of abuse.

Gilmore noted that Kansas is the only state using the “clear and convincing evidence” standard. The change will make it easier for state investigators to place people suspected of child abuse on a registry that prohibits their employment at child care facilities.

The agency also added a category between unsubstantiated and substantiated — “affirmed” — that will describe cases in which abuse or neglect are believed to have happened but not to a level severe enough to bring a substantiated finding.

Prosecutors seeking to bring criminal abuse charges still will have to prove guilt beyond a “reasonable doubt,” and only judges can remove the custody rights of children’s legal guardians.

The changes were announced during a hearing of a special legislative committee formed to vet the state’s foster care system.

The Capital-Journal’s reporting focused on Mekhi Boone, a 4-year-old Hiawatha boy who was beaten to death after DCF and one of the state’s foster care contractors placed him with his father.

Kaddillak Poe-Jones, a Wichita infant who died in a hot car after the foster parents she was placed with forgot her, also was mentioned in Tuesday’s hearing.

Privatized system questioned

After Gilmore’s announcement, legislators suggested the foster care system still needs a deeper look.

Democrats pushed for an audit of the system in July, but it narrowly failed when five Republicans voted it down. At Tuesday’s hearing, though, the majority party members expressed serious concerns as well.

“The kind of system we’ve created isn’t working,” said Sen. Julia Lynn, a Republican from Olathe.

The foster care system has been privatized since 1997, and DCF now works with two contractors, KVC Behavioral Healthcare of Olathe and St. Francis Community Services of Salina. A subcontractor, Topeka-based TFI, handled Kaddillak’s case, and DCF briefly halted new foster care placements with that agency after her death last year.

In recent years the state has consistently set records for the number of Kansas children in foster care, topping 6,000 last year.

Rep. Willie Dove, a Republican from Bonner Springs, expressed concerns that the numbers continue to burgeon under the privatized system.

Lynn said she requested information from staff about the cost to dismantle the system and have the state take over again but was told it was difficult to calculate because the Legislature never fully funded it prior to privatization.

The state currently pays the contractors about $280 million annually.

Lynn said the current contracts should be heavily scrutinized before they expire in 2017. Whether DCF stays with the current companies or enlists others, she said the next contracts should require more accountability.

“We need to have in place measurables for our contractors,” Lynn said.

State agency also scrutinized

DCF also faced scrutiny from legislators and law enforcement officials as the state agency that oversees the contractors.

Rep. Erin Davis, a Republican from Olathe, expressed concerns that the state was not doing enough to track the school attendance of foster children.

Ed Klumpp, a lobbyist who represents several law enforcement groups, said local police and county sheriffs get little help from DCF on calls involving foster children — especially after hours.

A phone line that is supposed to be staffed 24 hours a day is frequently not answered late at night, he said, and even when it is, the help that can be provided outside the Topeka area is minimal.

“When you go into a law enforcement conference and mention the DCF hotline, eyes roll,” Klumpp said. “We’ve got to fix it.”

He said more foster parents need to be trained in de-escalation and conflict resolution techniques, so police are called in less frequently.

Gilmore said her agency is short on trained social workers.

“We continue to have issues of both recruitment and retention,” Gilmore said.

Lynn said blame should extend to the legislative branch as well, telling the committee that the Legislature had “lost a collective will” to protect the “weakest of the weak” in the state.

Her comments were echoed by Rep. Mike Kiegerl, another Olathe Republican, who submitted written remarks.

Kiegerl criticized legislative leaders for granting the special foster care committee only one day of hearings, after its members requested five days.

“Children are not a legislative priority,” Kiegerl said, “and this committee faces an impossible task to find solutions to intractable, long-term problems which finally culminated in the horrendous death of two children.”

Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso

OTTAWA COUNTY – Three people were injured in an accident just before 1a.m. on Saturday in Ottawa County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol a 2012 Dodge Ram pickup driven by Jessica A. Patterson, 28, Delphos, who was impaired, was westbound on Rifle Road seven miles north of Kansas 106.

The driver was distracted by a passenger, failed to yield at a sign, and pulled out in front of a 1987 Pontiac Grand Prix that was southbound on U.S. 81.

The Pontiac driven by Pedro A. Villa, 15, Columbus, NE., struck the Dodge and sent into a stop sign and the ditch on the west side of road.

Villa and passengers Jennifer A. Christman, 36, and Jose P. Villa, 9, of Columbus, NE., were transported to Salina Regional Health Center.

Patterson was injured but not transported for treatment. A passenger in the Dodge Levi C. Ziolkowski, 28, Glen Elder, was not injured.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved genetically modified salmon, the first altered animal for human consumption in the United States.

The FDA made the announcement on Thursday.

The Obama administration has stalled for more than five years on deciding whether to approve a fast-growing salmon.

By altering genetic materials, scientists have proposed — and in some cases, actually created — animals that would be bred to be disease-free, cleaner in their environments or grow more efficiently.

Opponents of the technology have taken advantage of increasing consumer concern about genetically modified foods and have urged several major retailers not to sell it.

HUTCHINSON – The Kansas State Fair Board announced in a media release on Friday that Susan Sankey has been named general manager of the Kansas State Fair.

Sankey brings extensive experience in nonprofit leadership and the animal agriculture industry to the position where she will succeed Denny Stoecklein, who resigned earlier this year.

During the 2014 and 2015 fair seasons, Sankey served as the Director of Competitive Exhibits for the Kansas State Fair. In this role, she oversaw activities of 27 departments that comprise the Competitive Exhibits department, led a staff of two administrative assistants, department superintendents and show managers, and more than 200 of the Fair’s approximately 550 part‐time seasonal employees, and collaborated with the Grand Drive Committee to provide recognition and support for 4-H and FFA exhibitors participating in youth livestock shows. She participates in a network of professionals among national and international fair associations, and works with donors and sponsors for continued improvements to livestock shows and other competitive exhibits.

“The Kansas State Fair celebrates a long history, and I’m excited to be a part of its continued success,” Sankey said. “Being a part of the Fair is a great way to give back to the community of Kansas by celebrating our deep heritage and the future of agriculture, industry and culture. I look forward to working with a great team – dedicated and seasoned staff, volunteers, sponsors, loyal fairgoers – who are the heart of the Fair and its legacy to Kansans.”

Sankey has served in quality assurance leadership roles in animal agriculture and, before the Fair, as susan Sankeyexecutive director of the Rice Community Healthcare Foundation. In addition, she has served on local, state and national boards and committees.

Coming off a record-breaking year for attendance at the Fair, Harmon Bliss, Kansas State Fair Board president, says the board was looking for the best candidate to effectively lead the state’s largest-single event into the future and represent the Kansas State Fair at a local, state and national level.

“The Kansas State Fair has a long, stable, and rich tradition in promoting and showcasing agriculture, our state’s largest industry, with both entertaining and educational experiences,” Bliss said. “When the fair board interviewed candidates, we were looking for someone who could add to that tradition, and we believe Susan has the right skills and talents to do that.”

As general manager, Sankey will lead all activities related to the Kansas State Fair and non-fair events held on the 280-acre fairgrounds. She will also represent the fair, a standalone state agency, at public and agriculture industry organizations as well as at government agencies and the state legislature.

The Kansas State Fair Board met at 1:30 on Nov. 20, 2015, to vote and confirm the hiring of Sankey.

BURLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is spending about $20 million to remove sediment from the reservoir that serves as the primary water source for a nearby nuclear power plant and several communities.

The Wichita Eagle reports the project seeks to remove about 3 million cubic yards of sediment from the bottom of John Redmond Reservoir, which provides water for the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant and for several communities.

The dredging process is expected to take about a year.

The Army Corps of Engineers says the project is the first of its size for a corps reservoir and could serve as a model for other reservoir dredging projects in Kansas and around the U.S.

The Kansas Water Office says the dredging project is being paid for with money borrowed through 15-year bonds.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former assistant professor is suing four Emporia State University officials, alleging he faced racial discrimination and retaliation before he was fired.

Rajesh Singh taught at the university’s School of Library and Information Management from 2009 to 2015. He is suing two current administrators in the department, a provost and the university’s former president. He plans to add the university to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes about a month after Melvin Hale, a current assistant professor in the same department, filed a defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit against the university.

Singh, who is Asian, contends he was subjected to years of discrimination at the university, despite receiving outstanding reviews, and his efforts to argue his case were ignored.

Emporia State did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

SALINA- Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating an alleged case of indecent liberties with a pre-teen girl.

On Thursday, Salina Police arrested Larry Dennis, Jr., 25, Salina on a requested charge of aggravated indecent liberties.

The suspect is alleged to have inappropriately touched a pre-teen girl at a west Salina home in the early morning hours of October 31st.

The girl told her mother. The mother contacted police.
Dennis is an acquaintance of the girl’s family, according to police.