Kansas is the first in the nation to enact this 'significant improvement' to foster care

Kansas is the first state in the country to enact a new type of permanency for youths in foster care that allows older teenagers to establish legal relationships with supportive adults while still maintaining ties to their birth family.

"We're meeting young people in foster care where they are to let their voices be heard regarding their future, and that is something to celebrate," said Laura Howard, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families. "Every year, many young people in foster care in Kansas and across the country age out of the system without a loving, supportive, permanent family."

That is where House Bill 2536 comes in. The new law, which goes into effect July 1, allows children in need of care who are in state custody and at least 16 years old to choose a permanent legal custodian.

The new option is known as "support, opportunity, unity, legal relationships family legal permanency," or SOUL.

"This SOUL family option means young people aging out of foster care are empowered to select that circle of caring adults that will help them as they move into adulthood," Howard said. "The adults would agree to serve as legally recognized caregivers, not just during that transition period, but also into adulthood and for the rest of their lives."

Gov. Laura Kelly ceremonially signed the bill on Tuesday at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.

"I'm so pleased that the Annie E. Casey Foundation trusted Kansas enough to let us be the first state to put this out there," Kelly said. "I think we're going to become a model for the rest of the country."

The bill passed 112-8 in the House and 40-0 in the Senate before Kelly officially signed it last month. The legislation had the support of child advocates as well as DCF and its contractors.

Rep. Susan Concannon, R-Beloit and chair of the child welfare oversight committee, called it "a significant improvement in the Kansas foster care system."

Under old state law, the only three legal options were adoption, guardianship and reunification with the birth family. SOUL will be a fourth option.

"This gives young Kansans currently in foster care the ability to establish a circle of stable and nurturing adults who cheer them on and prepare them for the realities of adulthood," Kelly said. "SOUL family is a tool to reduce the number of young people who struggle to strive when they age out of foster care at 18. SOUL family creates a relationship between safe and supportive adults and young people as they grow into the next phase of their life."

Experts anticipate that the program will benefit more than 100 youths each year while saving enough taxpayer money to make it cost-neutral. The projections are that 135 youths will choose the SOUL option by its third year, which is when it will be fully implemented.

The average six-month cost to the state for a youth in foster care is nearly $26,000. State officials determined that as long as at least 32 youths have their stay in foster care shortened by at least six months, the savings will pay for the program costs.

Howard thanked those involved in passing the legislation, particularly people with lived experience in the foster care system.

"You came forward and you said there can be a better way," Howard said. "There can be a way that means that we can have permanent connections for our future, we can choose our families and we can make a difference in foster care and in child welfare. Thank you for your brave voices. Thank you for your insight."

Concannon said it was those "narratives that compelled our committee to act with a purpose and with some urgency."

'I remember when we didn't listen to young people'

Alexandria Ware was one of those advocates with lived experience in the child welfare system.

"I'm so glad that the state finally heard us," she said, speaking through tears.

"This has shown the progress of Kansas being able to listen to young people. ... I remember when we didn't listen to young people," Ware added. "So to see that growth is phenomenal. I just ask, any policies that you continue to make — whether it's the state of Kansas, whether its Kansas Appleseed, whether it's the legislators — that you have young people at that table."

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas is first in the country with new option for foster care youths