Adoption trends in Kansas: Managing outcomes or managing care?

Abstract

Two major reforms have occurred in the child welfare system in Kansas over recent years that were expected to impact the adoption process for children in state custody who are unable to return to their family of origin. In January of 1995, the Kellogg Foundation funded the Kansas Families for Kids (KFFK) initiative to undertake a large scale three year reform process that had as its major goals the reduction in the backlog of children in state custody who were not able to return to their family of origin and the implementation of policies and programs which would keep the backlog from growing again. Approximately one year after the initiation of KFFK, the state began planning a major change in the state's child welfare system involving a privatized managed care system for the delivery of family preservation, foster care and adoption services. Results of the analysis presented here indicate that significant improvement in adoption placement occurred under the KFFK initiative and that these improvements have been largely maintained under the privatized managed care system. Further analyses explore the role of timely referrals for adoption and reasonable outcome expectations.