SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL NO. 232
As Amended by House Committee of the Whole
Brief*
House Sub. for Sub. for SB 232, as amended, would
amend law in the Kansas Code for Care of Children (Code)
governing orders granting custody for adoption when parental
rights have been terminated. The bill would also amend law
governing jurisdiction of proceedings under the Code to
specify, if orders granting custody for adoption involve an
Indian child, the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
would apply instead of the Code.
The bill would be in effect upon publication in the
Kansas Register.
Orders Granting Custody to Proposed Adoptive Parents
In an order granting custody to proposed adoptive
parents, the bill would require the court to be guided by the
best interests of the child. The bill would also specify, in this
type of order, any prior custody order would cease upon the
granting of custody of the child to the proposed adoptive
parents.
Orders Granting Custody to Secretary or Corporation
In an order granting custody to the Secretary for
Children and Families (Secretary) or to a corporation
organized to care for and surrender children for adoption as
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org specified by the Code, the bill would specify that the
Secretary or corporation must be guided by the best interests
of the child when making adoption decisions.
Adoption Selection Preference
The bill would further specify when a child is placed in
the custody of the Secretary for the purposes of adoption
when parental rights have been terminated or relinquished,
the Secretary would be required to give preference, subject to
the best interests of the child, in the following manner:
●If a child has been in the custody of the Secretary
for less than one cumulative year:
○First to a relative;
○Second to a person with whom the child has
close and healthy attachments.
●If a child has been in the custody of the Secretary
for one cumulative year or more:
○To a placement that maintains the child’s
close and healthy attachments.
The bill would require the Secretary to consider a foster
parent as a prospective adoptive parent when:
●The child has lived more than half of the child’s
lifetime with the foster parent;
●The child has lived more than two years with the
foster parent; or
●The Secretary otherwise determines it is in the best
interests of the child.
2- 232 Adoption Selection Policies, Training, and Data Collection
To implement the provisions of the bill, the Secretary
would be required to:
●Develop and enforce adoption selection policies
that comply with the bill and ensure caregiver and
sibling attachments are appropriately considered;
●Review and update policies to reduce time to
adoption permanency;
●Apply adoption selection policies consistently;
●Develop and provide training for contractors and
employees;
●Collect data regarding best interest staffing
conducted pursuant to the statute, including, but
not limited to, data on the number of:
○Prospective adoptive parents who request the
Secretary to reconsider an initial adoptive
placement decision; and
○Initial adoptive placement decisions the
Secretary overturns after reconsidering the
initial adoptive placement decision.
Annual Report to the Legislature
The bill would require the Secretary to prepare a report
on compliance with the provisions above, to be submitted to
the Legislature on or before the first day of the 2025
Legislative Session and each legislative session thereafter.
Background
The House Committee on Judiciary recommended a
substitute bill containing the provisions of HB 2299, as further
amended by the House Committee on Child Welfare and
3- 232 Foster Care, pertaining to orders granting custody for
adoption after parental rights have been terminated.
Sub. for SB 232, as passed by the Senate on February
23, 2023, would have enacted the Child Advocate Act,
establishing the Office of the Child Advocate as an
independent state agency.
[Note: The House Committee on Judiciary did not retain
these provisions in its substitute bill. (On April 4, 2023, a
Conference Committee on Senate Sub. for HB 2070 was
appointed. As it entered conference, the bill contained similar
provisions concerning the Office of the Child Advocate).]
The House Committee of the Whole amended the
substitute bill to:
●Remove the ability of a foster parent to appeal a
placement decision and remove a related
requirement of the Secretary to report data on
such appeals to the Legislature;
●Change the required submission date of the
Secretary’s report to the Legislature; and
●Remove a provision requiring retroactive
application of the bill.
HB 2299 – Orders Granting Custody For Adoption
HB 2299 was introduced by the House Committee on
Child Welfare and Foster Care at the request of
Representative Humphries.
House Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care
In the House Committee hearing on February 8, 2023,
representatives of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas and
FosterAdopt Connect testified as proponents of the bill. The
proponents generally stated the issue of considering
4- 232 attachment to caregivers in cases of adoption from the foster
care system has developed over the last few years and
believe this bill effectively balances the various
considerations related to the topic. Written-only proponent
testimony was provided by the Child Advocate and a
representative of KVC Kansas.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee adopted amendments to:
●Change the bill’s effective date;
●Make the bill’s provisions retroactive to pending
proceedings on the effective date of the bill;
●Further clarify how the Secretary shall give
preference to adoptive placements;
●Further clarify what data the Secretary must collect
under the bill’s provisions; and
●Clarify ICWA would apply in orders granting
custody involving an Indian child.
On February 23, 2023, the bill was withdrawn from the
House Calendar and referred to the House Committee on
Appropriations (HAPP). On March 1, 2023, the bill was
withdrawn from HAPP and rereferred to the House
Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care.
On March 15, 2023, the House Committee further
amended the bill to clarify language concerning the right of a
foster parent to request direct placement of a child when
certain criteria are met.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on HB 2299, as introduced, the Office of Judicial
Administration indicates that enactment of the bill would have
5- 232 a fiscal effect on expenditures of the Judicial Branch.
However, until the courts have had an opportunity to operate
under the bill’s provisions, an accurate estimate of the fiscal
effect on expenditures by the Judicial Branch cannot be
given. Enactment of the bill would not have a fiscal effect on
revenues to the Judicial Branch but could result in the
collection of docket fees in those cases filed under the
provisions of the bill, which would be deposited in the State
General Fund.
The Department for Children and Families indicates
enactment of the bill would have a negligible fiscal effect on
the agency. Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not
reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Revised Kansas Code for Care of Children; jurisdiction; custody; adoption;
attachment; foster parent; best interest of the child; Secretary for Children and
Families
6- 232