Eliminating the court's requirement to order child support be paid to the secretary when custody of a child is awarded to the secretary.
Impact
If enacted, HB2581 would impact various sections of existing child support laws, specifically K.S.A. 38-2234 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 38-2255, making significant changes to how child support payment requests are structured in the context of custody cases handled by state authorities. By eliminating the mandatory order for child support to be paid to the secretary in these circumstances, the bill could lead to shifts in financial responsibilities when custody is transferred to the state, which may affect how families interact with the child welfare system.
Summary
House Bill 2581 aims to amend existing child support regulations by eliminating the requirement for courts to order child support payments to be paid to the Kansas Secretary for Children and Families in cases where custody of the child is awarded to the secretary. This change is intended to streamline child support processes within the state's child welfare system. The bill's proponents, including the Kansas Department for Children and Families, argue that removing this requirement makes the process less cumbersome for the affected families while ensuring that child support responsibilities are still addressed where necessary.
Contention
Notably, there may be contention around the bill regarding the financial implications for both parents and the state. Some stakeholders might express concerns about whether this change adequately ensures the financial support of children who may already be in vulnerable circumstances. Critics may fear that the elimination of this requirement could weaken the enforcement of child support obligations, thereby potentially negatively impacting children’s well-being if families fall into arrears or fail to fulfill their child support responsibilities following custody changes.
Directing the secretary for children and families to identify relatives and persons with whom a child in custody of the secretary has close emotional ties for placement and send notice of custody to the persons when identified.
Substitute for HB2132 by Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care - Modifying the definition of neglect in the revised Kansas code for care of children, prohibiting the removal of a child from such child's home due solely to a lack of financial resources, requiring that facts of serious harm demonstrate more than one fact of certain listed facts, determining when a law enforcement officer may or shall take a child into custody and requiring the secretary for children and families to provide means for a law enforcement officer to refer potential cases of abuse or neglect and provide a response to such referrals.
Requiring that a haircare plan is part of the case plan for a child in custody of the secretary for children and family services and requiring the secretary to offer training on culturally competent haircare to caregivers.
Requiring the secretary for children and families to reimburse hospitals when a child in custody of the secretary remains at such hospital and is no longer receiving medical services.
Determining when a law enforcement officer may or shall take a child into custody and requiring that the secretary provide support to such law enforcement officers, the court review involvement in permanency planning and a permanency hearing for a child in custody of the secretary be held within nine months from such child's removal from the and every subsequent hearing 6 months thereafter.
Establishing procedures for law enforcement agencies and the secretary for children and families to follow and use when a child in custody of the secretary is reported missing and requiring the secretary to obtain a nondrivers' identification card for such reports.
Substitute for HB 2189 by Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care - Granting jurisdiction to the court to extend custody of non-minor dependents and allow the secretary for children and families to provide reentry services to an eligible young adult.
Prohibiting the secretary for children and families from using federal benefits of a child in need of care for the care and custody of the child and requiring the secretary to create and maintain an account of such benefits received for such child.
Senate Substitute for HB 2070 by Committee on Judiciary - Establishing the office of the child advocate as an independent state agency, making orders granting custody for adoption subject to the federal Indian child welfare act, directing the secretary for children and families to consider foster parents as prospective adoptive parents in certain circumstances and authorizing appeal of any order of placement of a child.