Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday said the state will re-connect its round-the-clock abuse hotline.

Earlier this year, the child and adult abuse hotline operated by the Kansas Departmentt of Social and Rehabilitation Services had been scaled back because of budget cuts to take calls only during office hours.

That prompted concerns that some incidents of abuse were not being reported.

Sebelius said she and SRS Secretary Janet Schalansky decided the hotline was a major priority and shuffled budget funds around to come up with the $415,000 to pay for the expanded hotline.

Starting Aug. 19, SRS will start operating the hotline in-house and SRS staff will be available to take reports from callers all the time. The toll-free number is 1-800-922-5330.