Kansas foster care

Child welfare advocates say Kansas foster care regulations unintentionally tear families apart. State law forced one family to decide between asking their adopted son to move out when he turned 18 or send four younger boys out of their foster home.

By pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Foster children moving to new homes might mean a new school district. That means education records, course credits and other information need to be transferred to a new school. That can delay enrollment.

Congregate care facilities house foster children in settings ranging from drop-in day programs to inpatient mental health care. Advocates say these buildings need more oversight to curb suspected abuse of children.

28-year-old Natalie Zarate spent two decades working towards becoming a citizen after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally as a child. Except now she worries that the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to crack down on immigration and end birthright citizenship could endanger her and her family.

Twice this year, emergency response crews were called to a foster care contractor's office in Topeka to save the lives of children in state custody. Poor supervision at such offices has been a problem for years.

A court-mandated report released Monday shows that Kansas' foster care system is not only showing no improvement in key areas, but getting even worse. Foster children are still sleeping in offices, despite a lawsuit settlement requiring that stop three years ago.

Cornerstones of Care has had 17 kids sleep in a new shelter. The agency says it's an improvement over an office stay, but it's at a campus that critics call "grim.”

Kansas was one of the first states in the country to access federal Family First prevention money. Programs it is funding have spent years growing.

Problems with foster care agencies was a common reasons parents stopped fostering.