The Kansas Department for Children and Families (formerly the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services) is a state agency in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, responsible for the delivery of social services to those in need of them.
[ Agency History - 1970's]
The agency was founded in 1973, and it is currently headed by Laura Howard.
History
Pre-establishment
The 1859
Wyandotte Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas.
Background
The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...
mandated that the state create and support institutions for “the benefit of the insane, blind, deaf and dumb, and such other benevolent institutions as the public good may require.”
[ ''Kansas Constitution, Article VII, Section I''] As a result, the
Kansas Insane Asylum was established in 1866 in
Osawatomie.
[ Pre-Executive Reorganization Order 1] Due to overcrowding, an additional asylum was approved; the
Topeka State Hospital opened in 1879.
Establishment
The agency was first established in 1973 from then-
Governor Docking's Executive Reorganization Order No. 1, which created the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
Gov. Docking's 1973 ERO
/ref> Governor Docking then appointed Dr. Robert Harder as the first secretary of the agency. In that same year, legislation was passed to transfer all social welfare programs from the various counties to the new agency. The time it took to transfer the programs to the new umbrella agency was about nine months.
Services
*Child support services
*Economic and employment services
*Foster care
*Prevention and protection services
*Rehabilitation services
References
External links
Department of Children and Families websiteDepartment for Children and Families publications at State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Libraryformer Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services publications at State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Library
Aging and Disability Services
Government agencies established in 1973
1973 establishments in Kansas
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