Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says the state should use a small part of its federal stimulus money to expand health coverage for children.

Sebelius is proposing to add about 8,000 kids to the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. It covers health care for children in families that don’t qualify for Medicaid but who don’t have private insurance.

The governor said Tuesday that the expansion would cost the state about $1 million a year. She said the federal stimulus legislation allows states to use stimulus dollars for such an expansion.

The Kansas Health Policy Authority estimates that the state will receive $440 million in stimulus funds for health care in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

But some legislators question how long the state can sustain an expansion of the program.