Adrian Jones

Kansas’ new governor Jeff Colyer (R), who was sworn in on Jan. 31, wasted no time in proposing changes to the state’s child welfare system. Last week, Colyer and Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel introduced new legislation designed to provide the public access to information following the death of children due to abuse or neglect.

It was the dead kids who inspired me to leave my comfortable, well-paid job as a researcher and become a child welfare social worker. Kids like Adrian Jones, Zymere Perkins and Yonatan Aguilar, who were killed by their parents after months or years of abuse.