Governor, legislators must call special session to help KY’s most traumatized kids | Opinion

State Auditor Allison Ball and Ombudsman Jonathan Grate once again exemplify how the Office of the Ombudsman can serve as a catalyst for change for some of Kentucky’s most vulnerable kids. In a report released today, decision makers and advocates can look deeper at the reality facing foster children in nontraditional placements across the commonwealth, such as Department for Community Based Service offices, state parks, and hotels.

Clearly the report reminds us that Kentucky has a fractured system. In this thorough examination, we can’t help but be grounded in the immense challenges, traumas, and instability these young people face. It’s not a case of a hiccup here and a hiccup there — it is a systemic meltdown due to a variety of anticipated and unanticipated factors that’s led to poor youth outcomes and a costly price tag for the state.

The report certainly focuses on key areas in moving ahead, ranging from accountability and transparency to efficiency and integration of services. Within the broader reflections generated from the report, I am appreciative of the Auditor’s hopes around the roles that could be played by kinship families and the faith communities. In all, the report is a reminder the child welfare system is a tough puzzle everywhere, but that many states have and are pursuing innovative approaches ranging from programming to facilities to administrative processes we can learn from.

While timing for the Kentucky General Assembly creates barriers with less than one-third of their legislative working days remaining, there are a number of ways to respond to a report this comprehensive and troubling:

• You can obfuscate and make it political, which is simply ethically unacceptable.

• You can nibble at the edges, which may inadvertently make the situation worse.

• You can act on one or two of the major findings through legislative taskforces, which is better than nothing but simply won’t create the change our kids need.

• Or you can swing big — and perhaps the biggest swing is a special session focused on child welfare and child welfare alone.

That big swing will take policy change, shifts in practice, and genuine fiscal commitments. Kentucky needs a fundamental shift in the way we invest in and prioritize the child welfare continuum of care with a focus on comprehensive supports for family-based placements — be it kinship care, foster care, or least restrictive settings for kids. And that focus must be on getting that first placement as right as possible, especially as the report shows that, on average in the sample cases, children experienced 7.5 prior placements.

Unless we want to get stuck in partisan rhetoric or put all of our hopes in the 2027 Governor’s race, then action is needed now. Therefore, I am calling for Governor Beshear and legislative leaders to come together and announce a special session solely focused on reforming our child welfare system.

For a special session to bear meaningful results, Governor Beshear needs to work closely with legislative leaders and the Auditor’s Office — and young people with this lived experience — before a call is issued to establish a consensual framework and a general agreement as to scope. And if a special session is architected well, then maybe – just maybe – fiscal issues, policy efforts, and reforms in practice can converge to create a new day for Kentucky’s most vulnerable kids.

Let’s not forget that each case reviewed in the report is a young person who will soon grow up to be a contributing member of a Kentucky community. Anything less than a full court press cheats these kids — kids who have already been through too much — out of a future they deserve.

Terry Brooks is the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, an independent voice for Kentucky’s children. Learn more at www.kyyouth.org.

This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 2:41 PM.