Foster care official says Kansas should be ‘laser focused’ on Wichita’s placement crisis

By: Anna Kaminski

Outlets: Kansas Reflector

Published: September 25, 2026

Words: 600

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 3 days ago

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TOPEKA — Kansas’s top foster care official said the state should be “laser focused” on Wichita to improve a youth placement measure that has consistently fallen short of court-ordered standards.

Foster care contractors in Sedgwick County, where Wichita is located, have continuously struggled to place children in housing instead of offices or unlicensed beds. Since 2024, numbers have deteriorated.

Laura Howard, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families, told …

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