Auditor Allison Ball called “heartbreaking” the findings in a report that examined accounts of foster children sleeping in office buildings, hotels and state parks and that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services were “failing foster children” across Kentucky.
Ball and Ombudsman Jonathan Grate released an Examination of Children Sleeping in Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Office Buildings and Other Nontraditional Placement Settings (including hotels and state parks).
“The findings of this examination are heartbreaking and it’s clear that CHFS is failing foster children across Kentucky,” Ball said. “Housing children in office buildings, hotels, and state parks is a terrible and dangerous non-solution to a problem that is solvable. This is causing significant harm to many of Kentucky’s children.”
The examination covered a 22-month review period in which 304 children were placed in nontraditional placement settings like CHFS office buildings, state parks, or other unlicensed settings. The examination’s findings indicate the system of nontraditional placements is rife with conditions enabling runaways, physical abuse while in care, vulnerability to sex trafficking, and other forms of mistreatment and neglect.
A few examples include:
- 17 children were six years of age and under and four of these children were less than one.
- The population of children in nontraditional placements ranges from those without prior placements or serious diagnoses to those needing extensive supervision and medical care.
- 83 children with suicidal thoughts and behaviors were housed in office buildings without documented psychiatric care, suicide-safe design, or trained clinical supervision. Children with suicidal ideation were placed in nontraditional settings for an average cumulative stay of longer than one week; this is longer than the average stay of children without noted increased risks of suicide.
- Despite many of the children having medical and mental health issues, CHFS’s documentation of care provided was so lacking that in 247 (81.2%) cases, medical care, medication management, continuation of therapy, and school attendance were not readily apparent for the period when the child was housed in a nontraditional setting.
The report states despite this issue persisting for four years and a continued public commitment by CHFS leadership to find a solution, CHFS has failed to meaningfully address the problem. Under state law, CHFS must submit written responses to the Ombudsman addressing the findings by March 24, 2026. Then, within 60 days, CHFS shall notify the Ombudsman of which recommendations have and have not been implemented and its reason or failure therein to do so.
A link to the full report can be found here.
(Photo: Kentucky Auditor of Accounts, Allison Ball)
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
