Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam C. Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor
Division of the Budget
February 1, 2024
The Honorable Susan Concannon, Chairperson
House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 152-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Concannon:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2554 by House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster
Care
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2554 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
HB 2554 would amend the Kansas Code for Care of Children by requiring the Department
for Children and Families (DCF) to search for, identify, and notify adult relatives of children that
are the subject of a temporary custody order. DCF would be required to file reports within 30 days
of a court order being issued and at each subsequent hearing for the child in need of care proceeding
after that order has been entered. The report would document DCF’s efforts to comply with the
search and notice efforts to locate adult relatives of the child or persons with whom the child has
close emotional ties. Unless safety concerns exist that are known to DCF, adult relatives of the
child and persons with whom the child has close emotional ties would be required to receive notice
of court proceedings by certified mail.
An adult relative or a person who fails to respond within 30 days of the date of the notice
and subsequently wishes to become the child's placement would be required to show by clear and
convincing evidence that a change in placement is in the best interests of the child. The court
could order DCF to continue to search for adult relatives of the child or a person with whom the
child has close emotional ties, for up to six months from the date of the temporary custody order
entered or from the date of change in the child's placement. During the permanency hearing held,
DCF would report to the court all unsuccessful, intensive, ongoing efforts that have been made to
return the child home or secure a permanent placement with a fit and willing relative, legal
guardian, or an adoptive parent.
The Honorable Susan Concannon, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2554
Estimated State Fiscal Effect
FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026
Expenditures
State General Fund -- $206,212 $206,212
Fee Fund(s) -- -- --
Federal Fund -- 26,928 26,928
Total Expenditures -- $233,140 $233,140
Revenues
State General Fund -- -- --
Fee Fund(s) -- -- --
Federal Fund -- -- --
Total Revenues -- -- --
FTE Positions -- -- --
DCF indicates that to meet the search criteria outlined in HB 2554, new licenses might be
needed to access this various information. DCF uses an investigative software for several of these
searches but not all criteria are included in the software search. Current software licenses cost
$40,000 annually therefore, DCF assumes additional search engines and licenses would be similar
in annual costs.
DCF would be required to notify, by certified mail, all adult relatives, or persons with
whom a child has close emotional ties to find placement for the child. DCF indicates that this
would only pertain to children removed once HB 2554 is enacted. In FY 2023, there were 2,960
removals of children into out of home placement. A certified letter currently costs $4.35. If a
child has an average of 10-15 identified relatives or persons to contact, the cost would be between
$128,760 and $193,140 annually. DCF estimates that the total fiscal effect on expenditures for the
agency would be $233,140 from all funding sources, including $206,212 from the State General
Fund, beginning in FY 2025 and would continue in the out-years.
The Office of Judicial Administration indicates that HB 2554 would have a negligible fiscal
effect on expenditures of the Judicial Branch. The bill would not have a fiscal effect on revenues
to the Judicial Branch. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2554 is not reflected in The FY 2025
Governor’s Budget Report.
Sincerely,
Adam C. Proffitt
Director of the Budget
cc: Trisha Morrow, Judiciary
Kim Holter, Department for Children & Families