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Minutes for HB2601 - Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care
Short Title
Establishing a registry for child abuse and neglect to be maintained by the secretary for children and families and providing for registration and expungement processes that include administrative hearings and opportunities for subsequent appeals.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 11, 2026
The Chair opened the hearing on HB2601.
Jessie Pringle, Assistant Revisor, gave the bill brief for HB2601 to the committee. (Attachment 9) There were no questions from the committee.
Cyndi Howerton, Representative, House District 98, deferred speaking because of time constraints and referred to her proponent testimony as written-only. (Attachment 10)
Kristalle Hedrick, CEO, Children's Alliance of Kansas, spoke on strengthening accountability, but also on concerns with implementation. ((Attachment 11) Ms. Hedrick stood for questions from the committee.
Jordan Chessher, Co-founder, Project Heaven Child Advocacy, submitted written-only proponent testimony. (Attachment 12)
Kerrie Lonard, Child Advocate, OCA, gave neutral testimony and asked the committee to consider the purpose of the registry and adequate coordination of services in Kansas. (Attachment 13) Ms. Lonard stood for questions from the committee.
Loren F. Snell, Acting Director, Office of Administrative Hearings, gave neutral testimony and spoke of the independent agency's role to determine the validity of actions against an individual by a government entity. (Attachment 14) Judge Snell stood for questions from the committee.
The Chair suspended the hearing on HB2601.
