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Gina Meier-Hummel, a one-time child protective service investigator who now leads the Department for Children and Families, says the key is improving the way the agency and law enforcement work together on investigations, not shifting all the responsibility to one party.
“There’s no way, conceivably, for law enforcement to do all of what we do for families. Part of our job is to connect families with resources when they’re at risk. That’s certainly not law enforcement’s role.”
Meetings and training at the state and local levels are underway to accomplish that, she said.
The agency is hiring employees who do child protection work to fill vacancies that have averaged 14 percent statewide and have exceeded that in Wichita. The agency plans to seek additional funding for its Protection Report Center, which operates a hotline for abuse and neglect reports and assigns social workers, police officers or both to respond, depending on its assessment of the threat. The goal is to make it easier for center employees to access all the information they need to make those assessments properly.
Quick fixes unlikely for DCF’s efforts to protect Kansas children from deadly abuse | KLC Journal
“There’s no way, conceivably, for law enforcement to do all of what we do for families. Part of our job is to connect families with resources when they’re at risk. That’s certainly not law enforcement’s role.”
Meetings and training at the state and local levels are underway to accomplish that, she said.
The agency is hiring employees who do child protection work to fill vacancies that have averaged 14 percent statewide and have exceeded that in Wichita. The agency plans to seek additional funding for its Protection Report Center, which operates a hotline for abuse and neglect reports and assigns social workers, police officers or both to respond, depending on its assessment of the threat. The goal is to make it easier for center employees to access all the information they need to make those assessments properly.
Quick fixes unlikely for DCF’s efforts to protect Kansas children from deadly abuse | KLC Journal
