Kentucky's child-welfare cabinet housed foster kids in office buildings, hotels and state parks for years with no policy governing it.

An examination by the State Auditor and Ombudsman released March 9, 2026 found the Cabinet for Health and Family Services placed 304 children in 'nontraditional placements' between January 1, 2023 and October 29, 2024 — 269 in CHFS office buildings, 17 in hotels and 16 in state parks — for a combined 1,577 days at an estimated cost of at least $6.1 million, while operating without any formal policies or standards for the practice. Auditors found 83 children with suicidal thoughts were housed in office buildings without documented psychiatric care, 89 children with runaway histories were placed in offices, and in 81.2% of cases medical care, medication management, therapy and school attendance were not documented.