Kansas Legislature’s closed-door meeting on child welfare leads to outpouring of family heartache

Kansans share horror stories about child-welfare system with legislators after committee's rare closed-door meeting with state agency, contractors.

By: Tim Carpenter

Outlets: Kansas Reflector

Published: July 2, 2026

Words: 1,171

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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TOPEKA — Nineteen-year-old Alexander Preston addressed members of the Kansas Legislature after lawmakers concluded five hours of closed-door meetings with administrators of the state agency responsible for the welfare of children and private contractors hired to deliver services to abused or neglected youths.

On Tuesday, Preston told House and Senate lawmakers he was dealing with wrenching frustration. He said he learned by necessity about fragility of the state’s child welfare system after the mother of …

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