September 22, 2026
Annual analysis points to hundreds of children housed in offices, unlicensed centers
TOPEKA — The annual assessment of Kansas foster care reform required by settlement of a class-action lawsuit indicates the state improved health screening and crisis intervention for vulnerable children, but it fell short in advancement of home placement stability.
The Center for the Study of Social Policy released on Tuesday the fifth compliance report about work by the Kansas Department for Children and Families and its private contractors responsible for more than 5,000 children taken into foster care. The yearly assessment by the third-party organization was an outgrowth of the agreement laying out expectations of structural change on behalf of children “who are now, or in the future will be, in the protective custody of DCF.”
The Center for the Study of Social Policy, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., said in the report covering the 2025 calendar year that DCF and its contractors did better in terms of providing screening and intervention services for children removed from their home.