Generally, a child in need of care is a person less than 18 years of age who is without adequate parental care; or who has been physically, mentally, or emotionally abused or neglected; or who has been abandoned; or who is not attending school as required; or who is a run-away from home or court-ordered placement.
The Kansas Code for Care of Children seeks to remedy such circumstances in order to ensure that each child receives the care, custody, guidance, control and discipline, preferably in the child's own home, as will best serve the child's welfare and the best interests of the state.
It is the duty of the District Attorney to prepare and file the petition alleging a child to be a CINC and to appear at all hearings on the petition and in aid to the court. A CINC case may be resolved by a range of possible dispositions, up to and including, termination of parental rights.