Tracking Public Spending in Child in Need of Care (CINC) Cases

The chart below reflects monthly spending totals associated with court-appointed parent attorney payments in Sedgwick County during 2025. These records were obtained through public records requests and compiled for transparency and public-interest analysis.

This data helps illustrate how public expenditures fluctuate throughout the year in connection with legal representation provided in Child in Need of Care (CINC) proceedings.

Key Observations

• Spending levels varied significantly month-to-month throughout 2025.
• The highest spending months appear to be:
  • May
  • September
  • December
• Lower spending periods occurred during:
  • August
  • November
• Several months exceeded approximately $100,000 in total payments, suggesting periodic spikes in billing, case activity, contract processing, or payment cycles.

Why This Matters

Court-appointed representation in CINC cases is funded through public resources. Understanding how these expenditures change over time can help the public better understand:

• government spending patterns,
• budgeting priorities,
• payment timing trends,
• and the operational scale of child welfare litigation within the judicial system.

Publishing structured financial data also improves long-term public accessibility and accountability.

About the Records

The underlying payment records were obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). Totals shown represent compiled monthly expenditures associated with parent attorney payments in CINC-related matters.

Additional datasets, vendor analyses, and year-over-year comparisons may be added as more records are obtained and reviewed.

Monthly CINC Parent Attorney Spending Totals — 2025
This chart visualizes monthly public spending associated with court-appointed parent attorney payments in Sedgwick County CINC proceedings during 2025.

Source: Public records obtained through Kansas Open Records Act requests. Data compiled for educational and transparency purposes.