In the Interest of A.F.

Leben, J.:

Cases that involve children are challenging for eveiyone. The children must be protected. Their rights — as well as those of the parents and others with an interest in them — must be protected. And the legal process must move with some dispatch so that disputes may be resolved within a reasonable time frame, even as time is perceived by a child.

Our challenge here is to decide whether the dispute presented to us may even be heard in our appellate court at all. The child in this case, 3-year-old A.F., was placed into the custody of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation…