The state of Kansas will pay $100,000 towards settlement of a lawsuit brought by the mother of a four-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his father shortly after leaving the state’s foster care system. Most of the $412,000 settlement will be paid by TFI Family Services, which was one of the state’s foster care contractors at the time of the child’s death in 2013. Naomi Boone, the deceased child’s mother, charged in the lawsuit that TFI and the Kansas Department for Children and Family Services put the boy in danger by placing him with his father, who had a history of domestic violence. Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley is a member of the State Finance Council, which approved the settlement. He says the incident adds to growing concerns about the state’s privatized foster care system.
The foster care system was privatized more than 20 years ago. But a handful of recent child deaths and other incidents have raised concerns among lawmakers, prompting them to order audits of DCF.
Reporter Jim McLean, of the KHI News Service, has more details on the settlement:
