Police Protective Custody and Wichita Children’s Home

This page summarizes records obtained from Sedgwick County, the Wichita Police Department, and the Kansas Department for Children and Families regarding the placement of children taken into law enforcement custody and transported to Wichita Children’s Home (WCH).

For information regarding court-issued shelter facility designations, see the related page:

Administrative Orders Designating Wichita Children’s Home as a Shelter Facility

Wichita Police Department Policy 508

Wichita Police Department Policy 508 (Child In Need of Care) provides that children taken into Police Protective Custody (PPC) are to be transported to designated shelter facilities.

The policy identifies Wichita Children’s Home as the designated shelter facility for children who are physically abused, sexually abused, mentally abused, or neglected and who do not require inpatient medical treatment.

The policy further provides that:

  • Officers are to contact Wichita Children’s Home prior to transport.
  • WPD officers and Wichita Children’s Home staff jointly determine whether the child will be admitted.
  • Admission forms are completed even when a child is placed into emergency foster care.
  • If Wichita Children’s Home places a child into foster care, the transporting officer is responsible for transporting the child to the foster placement and documenting the placement.

JIAC–Wichita Children’s Home Memorandum of Agreement (4001-3)

Sedgwick County produced a Memorandum of Agreement between the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center (JIAC) and Wichita Children’s Home.

The agreement states:

“A child who is in the custody of a law enforcement officer because of suspected abuse or neglect, including a suspected victim of human trafficking, shall be taken directly to the Wichita Children’s Home (WCH).”

The agreement also establishes procedures for:

  • Initial placement by law enforcement.
  • Admission of youth from JIAC to Wichita Children’s Home.
  • Handling situations where admission is refused.
  • Information sharing between JIAC and Wichita Children’s Home.

County records show this agreement existed in at least a 2019/2020 version and was renewed again in 2025.

DCF–JIAC Memorandum of Understanding (4298-12)

A separate Memorandum of Understanding between the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center contains similar language.

The agreement states:

“A child/youth who is in the custody of a law enforcement officer because of suspected abuse or neglect, including a suspected victim of human trafficking, shall be taken directly to the Wichita Children’s Home (WCH).”

This provision appears in a formal interagency agreement between DCF and JIAC and reflects the same placement process described in the JIAC–WCH agreement.

Administrative Orders

The records obtained from the Eighteenth Judicial District show:

  • Administrative Order 95-6 designated Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility and expressly stated that it would remain effective until May 1, 1999, unless rescinded sooner by further order of the court.
  • Administrative Order 25-04 was issued on December 4, 2025, and designates Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility under current law.

The Court subsequently stated that it had provided all records responsive to the request for administrative orders designating Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility.

The Administrative Order Gap

The records obtained through public records requests reveal an apparent gap in the documented designation of Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility.

Administrative Order 95-6, issued by the Eighteenth Judicial District on March 30, 1995, designated Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility for children taken into custody by law enforcement. The order expressly stated that it would remain in effect until May 1, 1999, unless rescinded sooner by further order of the Court.

Despite the expiration date contained in Administrative Order 95-6, multiple policies and interagency agreements issued between 2019 and 2025 continued to direct that children in law enforcement custody because of suspected abuse or neglect be taken directly to Wichita Children’s Home.

These records include:

  • Wichita Police Department Policy 508 (Child In Need of Care);
  • DCF–JIAC Memorandum of Understanding (4298-12);
  • JIAC–Wichita Children’s Home Memorandum of Agreement (4001-3).

In December 2025, the Eighteenth Judicial District issued Administrative Order 25-04, again designating Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility.

The Court subsequently stated that it had provided all records responsive to requests for administrative orders designating Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility.

As a result, the publicly produced records currently show:

  • Administrative Order 95-6, which expired on May 1, 1999;
  • Multiple policies and interagency agreements issued between 2019 and 2025 directing placement of certain children at Wichita Children’s Home; and
  • Administrative Order 25-04, issued on December 4, 2025.

The records produced to date do not identify any administrative order issued between May 1, 1999 and December 4, 2025 designating Wichita Children’s Home as a shelter facility.

Source Documents

All documents referenced on this page were obtained through public records requests.