Protecting Kansas Children – A closer look at the legislation

When: 10 - 11:30 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 23

Where: Zoom virtual meeting - link will be sent with confirmation email

The 2023 Kansas legislative session included much focus on the welfare of children in our state, and legislators considered a number of bills addressing a wide variety of topics, including foster care, adoption and other measures to protect Kansas kids. Join us to hear from lawmakers, agency officials and advocates about the issues addressed during the 2023 session and the work left to do during the upcoming session and beyond.

Linda Sheppard, KHI Senior Analyst & Strategy Team Leader, will facilitate a panel of lawmakers and agency officials who will discuss child welfare legislation that was passed and considered during the 2023 session and issues that may be discussed during the interim session and the 2024 session. Panelists include:

-- Susan Concannon, Chair, House Child Welfare and Foster Care Committee
-- Laura Howard, Secretary, Kansas Department for Children and Families
-- Susan Humphries, House Child Welfare and Foster Care Committee
-- Kerrie Lonard, Child Advocate, Office of the Child Advocate
-- Kristen O’Shea, Joint Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight

Valentina Blanchard, KHI Analyst, will facilitate a panel of representatives of child welfare advocacy organizations across the state. Panelists include:

-- Mike Fonkert, Deputy Director, Kansas Appleseed
-- Kristalle Hedrick, Vice President of Kansas Programs, FosterAdopt Connect
-- Rachel Marsh, CEO, Children’s Alliance of Kansas
-- John Wilson, President, Kansas Action for Children

Please complete form below to register.

Accessibility

We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations for this event. For inquiries about accessibility or to make a reasonable accommodation request, please contact Lyndsey Burkhart at lburkhart@khi.org or (785) 233-5443.

Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy as to Students

The Kansas Health Institute admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs and other school-administered programs and conferences. Please call (785) 233-5443 with any questions.