"We can't get wrapped up in the media blowing this out of proportion,"  said Sen. Danny Carroll, while also acknowledging that "there is no question" it's still a problem. "Right now, until we can get this solved, the focus has got to be the offices themselves and what's happening there."

Senate Bill 111 from Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, comes just more than a week after a preliminary report from the Kentucky Office of the Ombudsman found that dozens of foster children stayed in office buildings over a four-month period in 2024 because there was nowhere else for them to go.

"In my opinion, children are not being properly cared for," Judge Gina Kay Calvert wrote. "My orders are not being followed."

Senate Bill 242 would cost $165 million and include building at least three new facilities and collaboration between the Department of Juvenile Justice, judges and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in assessing where children should be housed.