Please sign this petition to STOP the creation of a new foster care program that would favor a "traditional" family setting which would only include those who are heterosexual, faithful to their spouse for 7 years, do not drink or smoke, one parent does not work outside the home, they are involved in a large social group (preferably weekly like Church), both parents have a high school diploma, exempt from child care facility requirements, and they will also be encouraged to home school since each family will receive State Aid compensation. If Senate Bill 158 is passed, the hope is for the CARE Family Program to replace the current foster care system.

          In addition, CARE Families would receive a much higher stipend rate than foster families. The foster care system receives funding from many different sources, with one of the larger ones being Title IV-E funding which amounts to over $25 million per year.  Title IV-E requires that all foster homes receive the same amounts of funding and Senate Bill 158 will reward becoming a CARE family with higher funding than normal foster homes receive.  Because of this discrepancy, Title IV-E funding would most likely be withdrawn, resulting in a loss of $25M in yearly funding for the foster care system.

          As of 2014 the number of children in foster care have increased dramatically. In April there were 6,156 children in the system. That number has increased by 356 just a year ago and increased by 872 two years before that. "This is a primary indicator that we're not reaching families before tragedies happen. These are families in crises, and we're not reaching them because the resources for reaching them have been exhausted", Dona Booe of the Kansas Children's Service League. Senate Bill 158 would further exhaust such resources and the growing number of foster homes needed would significantly decrease creating an overload of children in the system. 

          There are many wonderful stories of "non-traditional" families who provide loving home environments to foster children. As we unite together we can stand strong in numbers to decimate Senate Bill 158 and continue to allow all types of individuals and families to provide caring and loving foster homes.