ANNUAL REPORT: Kansas Continues to Fail Children in Foster Care, Leaving Vulnerable Youth Without Stability and Care

(Kansas City, KS)—Today, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) released its annual report for 2025 reviewing the State of Kansas and the Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) contractors’ compliance with the terms of a 2021 Settlement Agreement concerning placement stability and services for children in the foster care system. The report shows that, despite improvements in crisis intervention and health screenings, the State is far from achieving the reforms it agreed to and continues to fail vulnerable children in its custody. 

Many children did not receive the mental health services they needed, according to the report, and hundreds of children’s lives were disrupted by extreme placement instability, with an overwhelming number spending the night in offices and unlicensed centers instead of safe, licensed foster homes. The instances in which children were placed in unsuitable settings occurred overwhelmingly in Wichita, discussed in the report as Catchment Area 7, but remain a persistent problem statewide (p.6). 

“When the settlement was signed in July 2020, the State acknowledged its responsibility to properly care for children it removes from their homes. The State isn’t just failing to hit some number; it is failing to ensure that children are provided safe, stable places to live and the medical and mental healthcare they need while in the State’s care,” said Nicki Rose, Legal Director at Kansas Appleseed. “The foster care system should be safer and more supportive than the home a child is removed from, and the report suggests that standard is not being consistently met.”

The Settlement Agreement is the result of M.B. v. Howard, a class-action lawsuit filed in November 2018 against officials in Kansas’ Departments for Children and Families, Health and Environment, and Aging and Disability Services on behalf of children in the foster system experiencing extreme placement instability and inadequate access to mental health resources. The Settlement Agreement requires the State to achieve specific outcomes and make structural changes to “improve the experience of and outcomes for all children who are now, or in the future will be, in the protective custody of DCF” (p.1). 

CSSP is the independent organization tasked with reviewing and assessing the State’s performance in meeting its obligations under the Settlement Agreement. This is the fifth annual report since the settlement in January 2021.

Among the plaintiffs’ legal team are Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Kansas City attorney and Child Welfare Law Specialist Lori Burns-Bucklew, the National Center for Youth Law, and Children’s Rights. 

“We are alarmed by the drastic increase in youth who DCF failed to provide with a safe, licensed, and stable placement, particularly in the Wichita area,” said Jean Strout, Senior Attorney, National Center for Youth Law. “The State must step up its oversight and support in the Wichita area and ensure that every one of these young people receives the stability and support they need to thrive.”

While this most recent report claims the State made significant progress in mental health screening and crisis intervention, it still has not met most necessary outcomes regarding failure-to-place incidents, placement moves, overwhelmed caseworkers, and inadequate mental health services. Among the key findings for 2025: 

• Kansas did not meet most of the requirements to improve placement stability for youth. More than 300 children experienced more than six placement moves, disrupting their lives and often causing them to be transported for long hours and with disruption to mental health service providers (p.57). DCF also failed to find placements for more children than it has since CSSP started tracking the data: 136 children experienced 348 episodes of Failure to Place, totaling 870 nights without placement (p.30). This reflects a 421% increase from the baseline in 2021 (p.61). Moreover, 665 children experienced a total of 1,391 night-to-night placements (p.5).
• Contributing to the problem of placement instability is ongoing workforce instability. None of the Case Management Providers met the caseload standard, with as many as two-thirds of caseworkers at one CMP exceeding the contractual limit (p.43). CMPs continue to struggle with high staff turnover and difficulty hiring qualified caseworkers. According to the CSSP, “When caseloads are high, caseworkers, children, parents and caregivers can all feel the impacts, with workers experiencing increased stress and having less time to spend working directly with each child and family” (p.46).
• Black foster youth were overrepresented among children in DCF’s custody. Black children account for 6% of the statewide child population of Kansas, yet comprised 15% of youth in DCF’s custody (p.22). Additionally,  the rate of placement moves for Black foster youth was 24% higher than the rate for white children (p.53), and they were at least twice as likely to be incarcerated compared to peers of all other racial and ethnic categories (p.40) 
• While Kansas did conduct timely initial mental health and trauma screens for 96% of children and expanded crisis intervention services, Kansas did not administer appropriate services to 37% of children with an identified mental health need in 2025 (p.81 & 83). Providing appropriate services to only 63% of children falls short of the settlement goal of 90% (p.83). 
• Kansas children continue to suffer a harmful cycle between placement instability and unmet behavioral and mental health needs. Frequent placement moves make it nearly impossible to coordinate consistent services, while the lack of stable, ongoing mental health care further destabilizes placements. Of the 37% of children with identified mental health needs who did not receive appropriate services, 13% didn’t receive services because, in part, they did not have a stable placement (p. 84).

“The latest report shows some progress, but the picture remains grim for far too many children in Kansas. Defendants are failing to provide some children with even a safe place to sleep for the night, much less the stable, supportive homes they deserve,” said Leecia Welch, Chief Legal Counsel at Children’s Rights. “In their own words, children describe ‘being treated like cattle.’ It’s past time that Defendants hear them, address the egregious lack of appropriate placements, and treat them with the respect and dignity they have for so long been denied.”

To read the full report, click here. More details about M.B. v. Howard are available here. 

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About Kansas Appleseed: Kansas Appleseed is a statewide organization that believes Kansans, working together, can build a state full of thriving, inclusive, and just communities. We conduct policy research and analysis and work with communities and partners to understand the root causes of problems and advocate for comprehensive solutions. For more information, please visit www.kansasappleseed.org.
 
About Lori Burns-Bucklew: Lori Burns-Bucklew is a Kansas City attorney in private practice. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and began practice in 1984. An accredited Child Welfare Law Specialist, she has represented children and youth, as well as parents, grandparents, and other caregivers for children whose families are subjected to state intervention. She has served as class counsel in several civil rights class action matters on behalf of children in state care. 

About The National Center for Youth Law: The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transform our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves. For more information, visit www.youthlaw.org.
 
About Children’s Rights: Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, immigration, juvenile legal, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org.