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HOUSE BILL No. 2524
AN A CT concerning child care facilities; relating to licensure of family foster homes;
requiring the secretary for children and families to allow maintenance of licensure of
family foster homes when certain persons with convictions or adjudications reside in
such homes; permitting the secretary, when not required, to license or allow
maintenance of licensure when certain persons reside in such homes; creating an
appeal process for family foster homes; amending K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 65-516 and
repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 65-516 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 65-516. (a) Except as provided in subsection (d), no person
shall knowingly maintain a child care facility if an employee who, in
this state or in other states or the federal government:
(1) (A) Has been convicted of a crime that is classified as a person
felony under the Kansas criminal code;
(B) has been convicted of a felony under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 21-
36a01 through 21-36a17, prior to their transfer, or article 57 of chapter
21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, or any
felony violation of any provision of the uniform controlled substances
act prior to July 1, 2009;
(C) has been convicted of any act that is described in articles 34,
35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, prior to their
repeal, or article 54, 55 or 56 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes
Annotated, and amendments thereto, or K.S.A. 21-6104, 21-6325, 21-
6326, 21-6418 through 21-6422 or 21-6424, and amendments thereto,
or been convicted of an attempt under K.S.A. 21-3301, prior to its
repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5301, and amendments thereto, to commit any
such act or been convicted of conspiracy under K.S.A. 21-3302, prior
to its repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5302, and amendments thereto, to commit
such act, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal
government;
(D) has been convicted of any act that is described in K.S.A. 21-
4301 or 21-4301a, prior to their repeal, or K.S.A. 21-6401, and
amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal
government; or
(E) has been convicted of any act that is described in K.S.A. 21-
3718 or 21-3719, prior to their repeal, or K.S.A. 21-5812, and
amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any other state or the federal
government;
(2) except as provided in subsection (b), has been adjudicated a
juvenile offender because of having committed an act which, if
committed by an adult, would constitute the commission of a felony
and that is a crime against persons, is any act described in articles 34,
35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, prior to their
repeal, or article 54, 55 or 56 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes
Annotated, and amendments thereto, or K.S.A. 21-6104, 21-6325, 21-
6326, 21-6418 through 21-6422 or 21-6424, and amendments thereto,
or similar statutes of any other state or the federal government, or is
any act described in K.S.A. 21-4301 or 21-4301a, prior to their repeal,
or K.S.A. 21-6401, and amendments thereto, or similar statutes of any
other state or the federal government;
(3) has been convicted or adjudicated of a crime that requires
registration as a sex offender under the Kansas offender registration act,
K.S.A. 22-4901 et seq., and amendments thereto, as a sex offender in
any other state or as a sex offender on the national sex offender
registry;
(4) has committed an act of physical, mental or emotional abuse or
neglect or sexual abuse and who is listed in the child abuse and neglect
registry maintained by the Kansas department for children and families
pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2226, and amendments thereto, or any similar
child abuse and neglect registries maintained by any other state or the
federal government and:
(A) The person has failed to successfully complete a corrective
action plan that had been deemed appropriate and approved by the
Kansas department for children and families or requirements of similar
HOUSE BILL No. 2524—page 2
entities in any other state or the federal government; or
(B) the record has not been expunged pursuant to rules and
regulations adopted by the secretary for children and families or similar
entities in any other state or the federal government;
(5) has had a child removed from home based on a court order
pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2251, and amendments thereto, in this state, or a
court order in any other state based upon a similar statute that finds the
child to be deprived or a child in need of care based on a finding of
physical, mental or emotional abuse or neglect or sexual abuse and the
child has not been returned to the home or the child reaches majority
before being returned to the home and the person has failed to
satisfactorily complete a corrective action plan approved by the
department of health and environment;
(6) has had parental rights terminated pursuant to the revised
Kansas code for care of children, or a similar statute of other states;
(7) has signed a diversion agreement pursuant to K.S.A. 22-2906
et seq., and amendments thereto, or an immediate intervention
agreement pursuant to K.S.A. 38-2346, and amendments thereto,
involving a charge of child abuse or a sexual offense; or
(8) has an infectious or contagious disease.
(b) If the secretary determines that there is no safety concern, The
secretary may license a family foster home, as defined in K.S.A. 38-
134, and amendments thereto, when a person who has been adjudicated
as a juvenile offender for an offense described in subsection (a)(2):
(1) Was a child in the custody of the secretary and placed with
such family foster home by the secretary;
(2) is 18 years of age or older;
(3) (A) maintains residence at such family foster home; or
(B) has been legally adopted by any person who resides at such
family foster home; and
(4) six months have passed since the date of adjudication.
(c) No person shall maintain a child care facility if such person
has been found to be a person in need of a guardian or a conservator, or
both, as provided in K.S.A. 59-3050 through 59-3095, and amendments
thereto.
(d)(c) Any person who resides in a child care facility and who has
been found to be in need of a guardian or a conservator, or both, shall
be counted in the total number of children allowed in care.
(d) (1) The secretary for children and families shall allow
maintenance of an existing license of a family foster home, as defined
in K.S.A. 38-134, and amendments thereto, when:
(A) Such applicant or licensee otherwise qualifies for such
licensure; and
(B) a person who resides in such home:
(i) Has been convicted or adjudicated of an offense described in
subsection (a);
(ii) was a child with such conviction or adjudication in custody of
and placed in such home by the secretary;
(iii) is less than 26 years of age; and
(iv) maintains residence in such home or has been legally adopted
by a person who resides in such home.
(2) The secretary for children and families may grant a license to
or allow maintenance of an existing license of a family foster home, as
defined in K.S.A. 38-134, and amendments thereto, if the secretary
determines that there are no safety concerns and a person residing in
such home otherwise meets the requirements in paragraph (1) but:
(A) Is older than 26 years of age; or
(B) has an additional conviction or adjudication described in
subsection (a) after release from the custody of the secretary for
HOUSE BILL No. 2524—page 3
children and families.
(3) (A) An applicant or licensee may appeal to the secretary for
children and families for review, if such secretary has not granted or
allowed the maintenance of a license when such licensure shall or may
be otherwise granted or allowed to be maintained under this
subsection.
(B) Upon review of such appeal, licensure may be granted or
allowed to be maintained by the secretary, whose decision shall be
final.
(e) In accordance with the provisions of this subsection, the
secretary of health and environment shall have access to any court
orders or adjudications of any court of record, any records of such
orders or adjudications, criminal history record information including,
but not limited to, diversion agreements, in the possession of the
Kansas bureau of investigation and any report of investigations as
authorized by K.S.A. 38-2226, and amendments thereto, in the
possession of the Kansas department for children and families or court
of this state concerning employees in a child care facility. The secretary
shall have access to these records for the purpose of determining
whether or not the home meets the requirements of K.S.A. 59-2132,
65-503, 65-508 and 65-516, and amendments thereto.
(f) In accordance with the provisions of this subsection, the
secretary is authorized to conduct national criminal history record
checks to determine criminal history on employees in a child care
facility. In order to conduct a national criminal history check the
secretary shall require fingerprinting for identification and
determination of criminal history in accordance with K.S.A. 2025
Supp. 22-4714, and amendments thereto.
(g) (1) The secretary shall adopt rules and regulations to fix a fee
for fingerprinting employees in a child care facility, as may be required
by the department to reimburse the department for the cost of the
fingerprinting.
(2) The secretary shall remit all moneys received from the fees
established under this section to the state treasurer in accordance with
K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments thereto. Upon receipt of each such
remittance, the state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount in the
state treasury to the credit of the child care criminal background and
fingerprinting fund.
(h) The child care criminal background and fingerprinting fund is
hereby created in the state treasury to be administered by the secretary
of health and environment. All moneys credited to the child care
criminal background and fingerprinting fund shall be used to pay local
and state law enforcement officers and agencies for the processing of
fingerprints and criminal history background checks for the department.
All expenditures from the child care criminal background and
fingerprinting fund shall be made in accordance with appropriation acts
upon warrants of the director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to
vouchers approved by the secretary or by a person designated by the
secretary.
(i) The secretary shall notify the child care applicant or licensee,
within seven days by certified mail with return receipt requested, when
the result of the national criminal history record check or other
appropriate review reveals unfitness specified in subsections (a)(1)
through (8) with regard to the person who is the subject of the review.
(j) No child care facility or the employees thereof, shall be liable
for civil damages to any person refused employment or discharged
from employment by reason of such facility's or home's compliance
with the provisions of this section if such home acts in good faith to
comply with this section.
HOUSE BILL No. 2524—page 4
(k) For the purpose of subsection (a)(3), a person listed in the
child abuse and neglect central registry shall not be prohibited from
residing, working or volunteering in a child care facility unless such
person has:
(1) Had an opportunity to be interviewed and present information
during the investigation of the alleged act of abuse or neglect; and
(2) been given notice of the agency decision and an opportunity to
appeal such decision to the secretary and to the courts pursuant to the
Kansas judicial review act.
(l) In regard to Kansas issued criminal history records:
(1) The secretary of health and environment shall provide in
writing information available to the secretary to each child placement
agency requesting information under this section, including the
information provided by the Kansas bureau of investigation pursuant to
this section, for the purpose of assessing the fitness of persons living,
working or regularly volunteering in a family foster home under the
child placement agency's sponsorship.
(2) The child placement agency is considered to be a
governmental entity and the designee of the secretary of health and
environment for the purposes of obtaining, using and disseminating
information obtained under this section.
(3) The information shall be provided to the child placement
agency regardless of whether the information discloses that the subject
of the request has been convicted of any offense.
(4) Whenever the information available to the secretary reveals
that the subject of the request has no criminal history on record, the
secretary shall provide notice thereof in writing to each child placement
agency requesting information under this section.
(5) Any staff person of a child placement agency who receives
information under this subsection shall keep such information
confidential, except that the staff person may disclose such information
on a need-to-know basis to:
(A) The person who is the subject of the request for information;
(B) the applicant or operator of the family foster home in which
the person lives, works or regularly volunteers;
(C) the department of health and environment;
(D) the Kansas department for children and families;
(E) the department of corrections; and
(F) the courts.
(6) A violation of paragraph (5) shall be an unclassified
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100 for each violation.
(m) (1) No person shall maintain a day care facility unless such
person is a high school graduate or the equivalent thereof, except where
extraordinary circumstances exist, the secretary of health and
environment may exercise discretion to make exceptions to this
requirement. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any
person who was maintaining a day care facility on the day immediately
prior to July 1, 2010, or who had an application for an initial license or
the renewal of an existing license pending on July 1, 2010.
(2) This subsection shall expire on June 30, 2026.
HOUSE BILL No. 2524—page 5
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2025 Supp. 65-516 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
I hereby certify that the above BILL originated in the HOUSE, and passed
that body
Speaker of the House.
Chief Clerk of the House.
Passed the SENATE ______________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.
Secretary of the Senate.
APPROVED __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.