Session of 2024
HOUSE BILL No. 2580
By Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care
Requested by Laura Howard on behalf of the Kansas Department for Children and
Families
1-24
AN ACT concerning children and minors; relating to the revised Kansas
code for care of children; providing authority for a court or a guardian
to consent to mental, emotional or behavioral health screening and
treatment of a child alleged or adjudicated to be a child in need of care;
granting immunity to providers who provide such screening and
treatment in good faith; defining behavioral health treatment; amending
K.S.A. 38-2217 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 38-2202 and repealing the
existing sections; also repealing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 38-2202a.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 38-2202 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 38-2202. As used in the revised Kansas code for care of children,
unless the context otherwise indicates:
(a) "Abandon" or "abandonment" means to forsake, desert or, without
making appropriate provision for substitute care, cease providing care for
the child.
(b) "Adult correction facility" means any public or private facility,
secure or nonsecure, that is used for the lawful custody of accused or
convicted adult criminal offenders.
(c) "Aggravated circumstances" means the abandonment, torture,
chronic abuse, sexual abuse or chronic, life threatening neglect of a child.
(d) "Child in need of care" means a person less than 18 years of age
at the time of filing of the petition or issuance of an ex parte protective
custody order pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2242, and amendments thereto, who:
(1) Is without adequate parental care, control or subsistence and the
condition is not due solely to the lack of financial means of the child's
parents or other custodian;
(2) is without the care or control necessary for the child's physical,
mental or emotional health;
(3) has been physically, mentally or emotionally abused or neglected
or sexually abused;
(4) has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law;
(5) has been abandoned or does not have a known living parent;
(6) is not attending school as required by K.S.A. 72-3421 or 72-3120,
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and amendments thereto;
(7) except in the case of a violation of K.S.A. 41-727, 74-8810(j), 79-
3321(m) or (n), or K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(14), and amendments thereto, or,
except as provided in paragraph (12), does an act which, when committed
by a person under 18 years of age, is prohibited by state law, city
ordinance or county resolution, but which is not prohibited when done by
an adult;
(8) while less than 10 years of age, commits any act that if done by an
adult would constitute the commission of a felony or misdemeanor as
defined by K.S.A. 21-5102, and amendments thereto;
(9) is willfully and voluntarily absent from the child's home without
the consent of the child's parent or other custodian;
(10) is willfully and voluntarily absent at least a second time from a
court ordered or designated placement, or a placement pursuant to court
order, if the absence is without the consent of the person with whom the
child is placed or, if the child is placed in a facility, without the consent of
the person in charge of such facility or such person's designee;
(11) has been residing in the same residence with a sibling or another
person under 18 years of age, who has been physically, mentally or
emotionally abused or neglected, or sexually abused;
(12) while less than 10 years of age commits the offense defined in
K.S.A. 21-6301(a)(14), and amendments thereto;
(13) has had a permanent custodian appointed and the permanent
custodian is no longer able or willing to serve; or
(14) has been subjected to an act that would constitute human
trafficking or aggravated human trafficking, as defined by K.S.A. 21-5426,
and amendments thereto, or commercial sexual exploitation of a child, as
defined by K.S.A. 21-6422, and amendments thereto, or has committed an
act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute selling sexual
relations, as defined by K.S.A. 21-6419, and amendments thereto.
(e) "Child abuse medical resource center" means a medical institution
affiliated with an accredited children's hospital or a recognized institution
of higher education that has an accredited medical school program with
board-certified child abuse pediatricians who provide training, support,
mentoring and peer review to CARE providers on CARE exams.
(f) "Child abuse review and evaluation exam" or "CARE exam"
means a forensic medical evaluation of a child alleged to be a victim of
abuse or neglect conducted by a CARE provider.
(g) "Child abuse review and evaluation network" or "CARE network"
means a network of CARE providers, child abuse medical resource centers
and any medical provider associated with a child advocacy center that has
the ability to conduct a CARE exam that collaborate to improve services
provided to a child alleged to be a victim of abuse or neglect.
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(h) "Child abuse review and evaluation provider" or "CARE
provider" means a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery,
advanced practice registered nurse or licensed physician assistant who
performs CARE exams of and provides medical diagnosis and treatment to
a child alleged to be a victim of abuse or neglect and who receives:
(1) Kansas-based initial intensive training regarding child
maltreatment from the CARE network;
(2) continuous trainings on child maltreatment from the CARE
network; and
(3) peer review and new provider mentoring regarding medical
evaluations from a child abuse medical resource center.
(i) "Child abuse review and evaluation referral" or "CARE referral"
means a brief written review of allegations of physical abuse, emotional
abuse, medical neglect or physical neglect submitted by the secretary or
law enforcement agency to a child abuse medical resource center for a
recommendation of such child's need for medical care that may include a
CARE exam.
(j) "Citizen review board" is a group of community volunteers
appointed by the court and whose duties are prescribed by K.S.A. 38-2207
and 38-2208, and amendments thereto.
(k) "Civil custody case" includes any case filed under chapter 23 of
the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, the Kansas
family law code, article 11 of chapter 38 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated,
and amendments thereto, determination of parentage, article 21 of chapter
59 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, adoption
and relinquishment act, or article 30 of chapter 59 of the Kansas Statutes
Annotated, and amendments thereto, guardians and conservators.
(l) "Court-appointed special advocate" means a responsible adult
other than an attorney guardian ad litem who is appointed by the court to
represent the best interests of a child, as provided in K.S.A. 38-2206, and
amendments thereto, in a proceeding pursuant to this code.
(m) "Custody" whether temporary, protective or legal, means the
status created by court order or statute that vests in a custodian, whether an
individual or an agency, the right to physical possession of the child and
the right to determine placement of the child, subject to restrictions placed
by the court.
(n) "Extended out of home placement" means a child has been in the
custody of the secretary and placed with neither parent for 15 of the most
recent 22 months beginning 60 days after the date at which a child in the
custody of the secretary was removed from the child's home.
(o) "Educational institution" means all schools at the elementary and
secondary levels.
(p) "Educator" means any administrator, teacher or other professional
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or paraprofessional employee of an educational institution who has
exposure to a pupil specified in K.S.A. 72-6143(a), and amendments
thereto.
(q) "Harm" means physical or psychological injury or damage.
(r) "Interested party" means the grandparent of the child, a person
with whom the child has been living for a significant period of time when
the child in need of care petition is filed, and any person made an
interested party by the court pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2241, and amendments
thereto, or Indian tribe seeking to intervene that is not a party.
(s) "Jail" means:
(1) An adult jail or lockup; or
(2) a facility in the same building or on the same grounds as an adult
jail or lockup, unless the facility meets all applicable standards and
licensure requirements under law and there is: (A) Total separation of the
juvenile and adult facility spatial areas such that there could be no
haphazard or accidental contact between juvenile and adult residents in the
respective facilities; (B) total separation in all juvenile and adult program
activities within the facilities, including recreation, education, counseling,
health care, dining, sleeping and general living activities; and (C) separate
juvenile and adult staff, including management, security staff and direct
care staff such as recreational, educational and counseling.
(t) "Juvenile detention facility" means any secure public or private
facility used for the lawful custody of accused or adjudicated juvenile
offenders that must not be a jail.
(u) "Juvenile intake and assessment worker" means a responsible
adult authorized to perform intake and assessment services as part of the
intake and assessment system established pursuant to K.S.A. 75-7023, and
amendments thereto.
(v) "Kinship care placement" means the placement of a child in the
home of an adult with whom the child or the child's parent already has
close emotional ties.
(w) "Kinship caregiver" means an adult who the secretary has
selected for placement for a child in need of care with whom the child or
the child's parent already has close emotional ties.
(x) "Law enforcement officer" means any person who by virtue of
office or public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain
public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty extends to all
crimes or is limited to specific crimes.
(y) "Multidisciplinary team" means a group of persons, appointed by
the court under K.S.A. 38-2228, and amendments thereto, that has
knowledge of the circumstances of a child in need of care.
(z) "Neglect" means acts or omissions by a parent, guardian or person
responsible for the care of a child resulting in harm to a child, or
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presenting a likelihood of harm, and the acts or omissions are not due
solely to the lack of financial means of the child's parents or other
custodian. Neglect may include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) Failure to provide the child with food, clothing or shelter
necessary to sustain the life or health of the child;
(2) failure to provide adequate supervision of a child or to remove a
child from a situation that requires judgment or actions beyond the child's
level of maturity, physical condition or mental abilities and that results in
bodily injury or a likelihood of harm to the child; or
(3) failure to use resources available to treat a diagnosed medical
condition if such treatment will make a child substantially more
comfortable, reduce pain and suffering, or correct or substantially diminish
a crippling condition from worsening. A parent legitimately practicing
religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a
child because of religious beliefs shall, not for that reason, be considered a
negligent parent; however, this exception shall not preclude a court from
entering an order pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2217(a)(2), and amendments
thereto.
(aa) "Parent" when used in relation to a child or children, includes a
guardian and every person who is by law liable to maintain, care for or
support the child.
(bb) "Party" means the state, the petitioner, the child, any parent of
the child and an Indian child's tribe intervening pursuant to the Indian
child welfare act.
(cc) "Permanency goal" means the outcome of the permanency
planning process, which may be reintegration, adoption, appointment of a
permanent custodian or another planned permanent living arrangement.
(dd) "Permanent custodian" means a judicially approved permanent
guardian of a child pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2272, and amendments thereto.
(ee) "Physical, mental or emotional abuse" means the infliction of
physical, mental or emotional harm or the causing of a deterioration of a
child and may include, but shall not be limited to, maltreatment or
exploiting a child to the extent that the child's health or emotional well-
being is endangered.
(ff) "Placement" means the designation by the individual or agency
having custody of where and with whom the child will live.
(gg) "Qualified residential treatment program" means a program
designated by the secretary for children and families as a qualified
residential treatment program pursuant to federal law.
(hh) "Reasonable and prudent parenting standard" means the standard
characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the
health, safety and best interests of a child while at the same time
encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child, that a
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caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child in foster
care under the responsibility of the state to participate in extracurricular,
enrichment, cultural and social activities.
(ii) "Relative" means a person related by blood, marriage or adoption.
(jj) "Runaway" means a child who is willfully and voluntarily absent
from the child's home without the consent of the child's parent or other
custodian.
(kk) "Secretary" means the secretary for children and families or the
secretary's designee.
(ll) "Secure facility" means a facility, other than a staff secure facility
or juvenile detention facility, that is operated or structured so as to ensure
that all entrances and exits from the facility are under the exclusive control
of the staff of the facility, whether or not the person being detained has
freedom of movement within the perimeters of the facility, or that relies on
locked rooms and buildings, fences or physical restraint in order to control
behavior of its residents. No secure facility shall be in a city or county jail.
(mm) "Sexual abuse" means any contact or interaction with a child in
which the child is being used for the sexual stimulation of the perpetrator,
the child or another person. Sexual abuse shall include, but is not limited
to, allowing, permitting or encouraging a child to:
(1) Be photographed, filmed or depicted in pornographic material; or
(2) be subjected to aggravated human trafficking, as defined in
K.S.A. 21-5426(b), and amendments thereto, if committed in whole or in
part for the purpose of the sexual gratification of the offender or another,
or be subjected to an act that would constitute conduct proscribed by
article 55 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated or K.S.A. 21-
6419 or 21-6422, and amendments thereto.
(nn) "Shelter facility" means any public or private facility or home,
other than a juvenile detention facility or staff secure facility, that may be
used in accordance with this code for the purpose of providing either
temporary placement for children in need of care prior to the issuance of a
dispositional order or longer term care under a dispositional order.
(oo) "Staff secure facility" means a facility described in K.S.A. 65-
535, and amendments thereto: (1) That does not include construction
features designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of
juvenile residents who are placed therein; (2) that may establish reasonable
rules restricting entrance to and egress from the facility; and (3) in which
the movements and activities of individual juvenile residents may, for
treatment purposes, be restricted or subject to control through the use of
intensive staff supervision. No staff secure facility shall be in a city or
county jail.
(pp) "Transition plan" means, when used in relation to a youth in the
custody of the secretary, an individualized strategy for the provision of
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medical, mental health, education, employment and housing supports as
needed for the adult and, if applicable, for any minor child of the adult, to
live independently and specifically provides for the supports and any
services for which an adult with a disability is eligible including, but not
limited to, funding for home and community based services waivers.
(qq) "Youth residential facility" means any home, foster home or
structure that provides 24-hour-a-day care for children and that is licensed
pursuant to article 5 of chapter 65 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and
amendments thereto.
(rr) "Behavioral health crisis" means behavioral and conduct issues
that impact the safety or health of a child, members of the child's
household or family or members of the community, including, but not
limited to, non-life threatening mental health and substance abuse
concerns.
(ss) "Behavioral health treatment" means any service intended to
promote the mental health of a child alleged or adjudicated to be a child
in need of care and rendered by a qualified professional, licensed or
certified by the state to provide such service as an independent
practitioner or under the supervision of such practitioner and the broad
range of emergency intermediate and inpatient services and care,
including, but not limited to, diagnostic evaluation, medical, psychiatric,
psychological and social service care, vocational rehabilitation and
career counseling, which may be extended to persons with an alcohol or
substance abuse problem.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 38-2217 is hereby amended to read as follows: 38-
2217. (a) Physical or, mental care, emotional or behavioral health
screening and treatment. (1) When a child less than 18 years of age is
alleged to have been physically, mentally or emotionally abused or
neglected or sexually abused, no consent shall be required to medically
examine the child to determine whether the child has been abused or
neglected. Unless the child is alleged or suspected to have been abused by
the parent or guardian, the investigating officer shall notify or attempt to
notify the parent or guardian of the medical examination of the child.
(2) When the health or condition of a child who is subject to
jurisdiction of the court requires it, the court may consent to the
performing and furnishing of hospital, medical, surgical or dental
treatment or procedures, mental, emotional or behavioral health screening
and treatment, including the release and inspection of medical or dental
and mental, emotional or behavioral health records. A child, or parent of
any child, who is opposed to certain medical procedures or mental,
emotional or behavioral health screening and treatment authorized by this
subsection may request an opportunity for a hearing thereon before the
court. Subsequent to the hearing, the court may limit the performance of
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matters provided for in this subsection or may authorize the performance
of those matters subject to terms and conditions the court considers proper.
(3) The custodian or agent of the custodian is the personal
representative for the purpose of consenting to disclosure of otherwise
protected health information and may give consent to the following:
(A) Dental treatment for the child by a licensed dentist;
(B) diagnostic examinations of the child, including but not limited to
the withdrawal of blood or other body fluids, x-rays and other laboratory
examinations;
(C) releases and inspections of the child's medical history records;
(D) immunizations for the child;
(E) administration of lawfully prescribed drugs to the child;
(F) examinations of the child including, but not limited to, the
withdrawal of blood or other body fluids or tissues for the purpose of
determining the child's parentage; and
(G) subject to limitations in K.S.A. 59-3075(e)(4), (5) and (6), and
amendments thereto, medical or surgical care determined by a physician to
be necessary for the welfare of such child, if the parents are not available
or refuse to consent; and
(H) mental, emotional or behavioral health screening and treatment
of such child, other than inpatient treatment at a state psychiatric hospital,
including the release and inspection of medical or hospital records, the
court considers proper subject to limitations in K.S.A. 59-3075(e)(4), (5)
and (6), and amendments thereto.
(4) When the court has adjudicated a child to be in need of care, the
custodian or an agent designated by the custodian is the personal
representative for the purpose of consenting to disclosure of otherwise
protected health information and shall have authority to consent to the
performance and furnishing of hospital, medical, surgical or dental
treatment or procedures or mental care or, emotional or behavioral health
screening and treatment other than inpatient treatment at a state psychiatric
hospital, including the release and inspection of medical or hospital
records, subject to terms and conditions the court considers proper and
subject to the limitations of K.S.A. 59-3075 (e)(4), (5) and (6), and
amendments thereto.
(5) Any health care provider who in good faith renders hospital,
medical, surgical, mental, emotional, or behavioral health or dental care or
treatment to any child or discloses protected health information as
authorized by this section shall not be liable in any civil or criminal action
for failure to obtain consent of a parent.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that any person
shall be relieved of legal responsibility to provide care and support for a
child.
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(b) Care and treatment requiring court action. If it is brought to the
court's attention, while the court is exercising jurisdiction over the person
of a child under this code, that the child may be a mentally ill person as
defined in K.S.A. 59-2946, and amendments thereto, or a person with an
alcohol or substance abuse problem as defined in K.S.A. 59-29b46, and
amendments thereto, the court may:
(1) Direct or authorize the county or district attorney or the person
supplying the information to file the petition provided for in K.S.A. 59-
2957, and amendments thereto, and proceed to hear and determine the
issues raised by the application as provided in the care and treatment act
for mentally ill persons or the petition provided for in K.S.A. 59-29b57,
and amendments thereto, and proceed to hear and determine the issues
raised by the application as provided in the care and treatment act for
persons with an alcohol or substance abuse problem; or
(2) authorize that the child seek voluntary admission to a treatment
facility as provided in K.S.A. 59-2949, and amendments thereto, or K.S.A.
59-29b49, and amendments thereto.
The application to determine whether the child is a mentally ill person
or a person with an alcohol or substance abuse problem may be filed in the
same proceedings as the petition alleging the child to be a child in need of
care, or may be brought in separate proceedings. In either event, the court
may enter an order staying any further proceedings under this code until
all proceedings have been concluded under the care and treatment act for
mentally ill persons or the care and treatment act for persons with an
alcohol or substance abuse problem.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 38-2217 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 38-2202 and 38-
2202a are hereby repealed.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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