Kansas Child Welfare Summit

Working together to create lasting improvement in child welfare.

More information here: https://www.kscourts.org/About-the-Courts/Court-Administration/Court-Initiatives/2024-Kansas-Child-Welfare-Summit

About the summit

The 2024 Child Welfare Summit is a call to state and local leaders and child welfare justice partners to assemble for the purpose of working together to create lasting improvement in child welfare.

Child Welfare Summit agenda
Child Welfare Summit flyer

Justice Melissa Standridge wrote about the summit in a recent article Published in the Kansas Bar Journal, Fostering Hope in Child Welfare: Working Together to Create Lasting Improvements for Children and Families in Kansas.

The summit will feature the latest expert knowledge, as well as activities designed to build collaborative networks between the various roles in the child welfare process.

Presenters and activities will focus on practical steps child welfare partners can take to prevent unnecessary involvement in the child welfare system, improve the current permanency process, and empower Kansas families, youth, and young adults involved in state custody. It will also feature voices with lived expertise with the child welfare system.

The summit’s success depends on wholehearted participation by people committed to working together toward this shared goal. We will have capacity for local teams and partners to attend in person. We also have capacity for up to 1,000 people to participate virtually.

Who should attend

The summit is open to anyone invested in child welfare. Judicial districts are assembling local teams to represent Kansas communities. Team members will represent various child welfare roles, including:

• child in need of care judges
• guardians ad litem
• parent attorneys
• prosecutors
• Department for Children and Families staff
• Department for Children and Families local case management and provider staff
• Court Appointed Special Advocates staff
• citizen review board staff
• law enforcement
• legislators
• tribes
• Department on Aging and Disability Services