<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596134359509.jpeg" alt="Laura Singer (left) and Shannon Shelton (right) brought extra signs to push for Adrian’s law and call for change in the DCF system, July 29, 2020 (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Laura Singer (left) and Shannon Shelton (right) brought extra signs to push for Adrian’s law and call for change in the DCF system, July 29, 2020 (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/07/29/protesters-demand-more-transparency-from-kansas-department-of-children-and-families/">Kansas Reflector</a>A dozen protestors stood 
in the rain on Wednesday calling for change to be made at the Kansas 
Department for Children and Families. They said a lack of transparency 
has cost the lives of children, including Adrian Jones, <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article187972269.html">Evan Brewer</a> and, most recently, 3-year-old Olivia Jansen.Olivia’s body was found in
 a shallow grave on July 10, the day her father reported her missing. 
Her body was covered in bruises and showed other signs of physical 
abuse, according to a probable cause affidavit. <a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/olivia-jansens-grandparents-concerned-about-her-well-being-before-her-death#:~:text=The%20grandparents%20of%20Olivia%20Jansen,home%2C%22%20Elisabeth%20Jansen%20said.">Olivia’s grandparents said</a> they called the agency in March, after not seeing her for months. They said they also called law enforcement several times.Earlier this month, 
Wyandotte County prosecutors charged Olivia’s father, Howard Jansen III,
 and his girlfriend, Jacqulyn Kirkpatrick, with felony murder, among 
other crimes, in her death. But DCF has continued to balk at requests to
 release her records.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596134411967.jpeg" alt="Brooke Wyrick called for Shanelle Dupree to step down as regional director of DCF, citing a large number of children who have died under her watch. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Brooke Wyrick called for Shanelle Dupree to step down as regional director of DCF, citing a large number of children who have died under her watch. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>“We have got to protect 
our children and the DCF is not taking that seriously enough,” said 
Nicole Agard, who organized the protest. “We can’t leave these reports 
uninvestigated and leave children in the hands of their abusers.”DCF is required to release records when child abuse results in a fatality, <a href="https://www.ksrevisor.org/statutes/chapters/ch38/038_022_0012.html">according to a 2018 law</a>. DCF spokesman Mike Deines said the department is still determining whether Olivia died of abuse or neglect.As of Oct. 1, 2019, KVC no longer serves Wyandotte County.The protesters gathered 
outside the DCF office in Wyandotte County before marching to the nearby
 county courthouse. Agard, who is a mother of one, said she was moved to
 action when she heard of Olivia’s case.“These children are being 
tortured, abused and neglected, but our hands are tied,” Agard said. 
“We’re supposed to call local law enforcement and DCF when we need help,
 but the community is not receiving that help.”Protester Brooke Wyrick 
said she came out in the rain because she was fed up with how long the 
investigation was taking and called for the resignation or firing of DCF
 regional director Shanelle Dupree.“Too many children have 
died under her watch,” Wyrick said. “Now we are forced to relive our 
traumas of past failures like that of Adrian Jones.”Jones was tortured and killed by his parents in a highly publicized 2015 case that also <a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/investigations/family-files-lawsuit-against-kansas-dcf-in-death-of-adrian-jones">earned DCF significant criticism.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596134442140.jpeg" alt="When NaCole Agard (far right) heard of Olivia’s case she thought of her own child and had to act. “The system isn’t going to change, so we need to make sure it changes,” she said. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>When NaCole Agard (far right) heard of Olivia’s case she thought of her own child and had to act. “The system isn’t going to change, so we need to make sure it changes,” she said. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Release of Olivia Jansen’s DCF record was the group’s first demand, but their ultimate goal is the <a href="https://legiscan.com/KS/bill/HB2392/2019">passage of Adrian’s Law</a>,
 a bill that would require a court-appointed representative from DCF to 
visually observe any child who is allegedly at risk of abuse or neglect.
 The representative would oversee the case for its duration, speak in 
the sole interest of that child in court and prevent any child from 
slipping through the cracks.The law has been introduced but stalled in the Kansas legislature three years in a row.“These are the types of 
laws we need to ensure children’s safety and to bring justice to those 
we’ve lost. We need safeguards for this type of situation,” said Laura 
Singer, who said she attended to bring awareness to the proposed law.Agard said if anything 
comes of Wednesday’s protest, she hoped it provides an opportunity to 
strategize on how to advance Adrian’s Law.“Olivia’s death could have
 been prevented if there was a follow-up system in place,” Agard said. 
“It’s clear the system isn’t going to change, so we need to make sure it
 changes.”Noah Taborda started his journalism career in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, covering local government and producing an episode of the podcast Show Me The State while earning his bachelor’s degree in radio broadcasting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Noah then made a short move to Kansas City, Missouri, to work at KCUR as an intern on the talk show Central Standard and then in the newsroom, reporting on daily news and feature stories.

Protesters demand transparency from Kan. Dept. for Children and Families