Phyllis Gilmore, the secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families, is coming under increasing fire because of problems in the state foster care system.
Former legislator and current Republican candidate for governor Mark Hutton is calling on Gov. Sam Brownback to fire Gilmore. He says revelations about missing foster children are the latest in a “near endless stream of failures.”
In a recent interview, he also expressed frustration about reports of children having to spend the night in the offices of the state’s foster care contractors.
“When we have kids sleeping on the floor of government offices, that’s tragic,” Hutton says.
Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an Overland Park Republican, says all top officials at DCF should go.
House Minority Leader and Democratic candidate for governor Jim Ward called for Gilmore’s dismissal earlier in the week.
The governor’s office hasn’t responded to questions about Gilmore’s future at DCF.
--Jim McLean is managing director of KMUW's Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio and KCUR covering health, education and politics in Kansas. Follow him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
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