HHS watchdog finds foster children still placed in hotels and offices
A July 2026 review by the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general found that state agencies reported 15,705 stays in temporary emergency placements for foster children during the period from January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
The placements included hotels, state and county offices, and other unlicensed facilities that were not designed to care for children. The report offers a national snapshot, but its figures are based on state questionnaire responses and follow-up information, not a complete national administrative dataset. They should not be treated as a current 2026 placement count.
What the review counted
Forty-nine state agencies responded to the HHS Office of Inspector General questionnaire, although not all supplied every requested data point. Forty-two agencies reported using temporary emergency placements, and 34 tracked their use well enough to report 15,705 stays.
The report defines a stay as one or more consecutive nights. The total does not equal the number of children because some children had multiple stays. One state agency, for example, reported that a child was housed in a hotel on five separate occasions during the audit period.
Thirty agencies provided enough information to identify 9,045 children involved. Eight agencies said they did not keep records to track children in temporary emergency placements, while seven reported that they did not use them. Two agencies did not respond.
Hotels and offices were among the settings used
Seventeen state agencies reported 1,922 hotel-room stays. Twenty-two agencies reported 2,698 stays in state or county offices. Sixteen agencies reported 4,412 stays in other unlicensed settings, including emergency shelters, transitional centers and cabins in state parks. For 6,673 reported stays, the available information was not detailed enough to identify the type of facility.
The average reported stay was seven days, but the range was wide. The longest reported stay lasted 251 days in a hotel. Fifty-nine percent of the stays lasted four days or less, while 14% lasted 11 days or longer. The report said stay-length information was incomplete for some states.
The largest age group in the child-level analysis was teenagers ages 15 to 17. States also reported 1,496 children age 5 or younger in temporary emergency placements.
Placement shortages drove the problem
State agencies told the inspector general that the central difficulty was finding licensed homes and facilities able to serve children with complex behavioral, mental-health or medical needs. Agencies also reported particular difficulty placing older children.
Other factors cited by states included disruptions tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency and the effects of illicit drug use on the needs of children entering foster care. The report frames the risks as concerns about suitability, safety, health and well-being, including difficulty maintaining therapy, enrolling children in school and providing adequate privacy, activities and living space.
The review did not find that every state used hotels or offices, and it did not say that all temporary placements were unlawful. The inspector general described them as unlicensed settings not designed for foster care and noted that 40 responding state agencies said their laws did not specifically prohibit their use.
Some placements were excluded from the totals
The questionnaire also asked about hospitals, detention centers and jails. Some agencies said they used those settings in certain circumstances, including instances in which children remained in hospitals beyond the medically necessary period because no suitable placement was available. But the agencies generally did not track those stays separately, so the inspector general excluded them from the totals it presented.
Federal officials agreed to improve tracking
The inspector general recommended that the Administration for Children and Families work with states to improve data collection and reporting on temporary emergency placements. ACF concurred with the recommendation.
In written comments dated June 5, 2026, ACF said it was testing approaches to expand data collection and that the information gathered could inform future federal guidance. ACF also cited its Home for Every Child Initiative, which encourages states to support children in safe, stable and appropriate environments.
That response is not the same as a completed national tracking system or a federal policy change already in effect.
What to watch next
The report’s questionnaire and follow-up work reflected information available through January 2025, and the audit itself was conducted from March 2024 through May 2026. The report therefore does not establish whether temporary emergency placements have increased or declined since June 2023.
The most important follow-up will be whether ACF and the states establish clearer definitions, comparable reporting and measurable progress in reducing unlicensed emergency placements.
Readers and child-welfare advocates should also watch for changes in the supply of licensed foster homes, the use of kinship care, access to behavioral-health services and specialized support for older children and children with complex needs. Better data would help show where shortages and repeat placements are concentrated, but the July 2026 report does not provide a new national count for current placements.
Sources
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