Policy & Research · Texas behavioral health news
Kids Keep Getting Stuck in Hospitals, Even After Being Cleared for Discharge
KFF Health News – Mental Health · By Cara Anthony · May 18, 2026
In plain language
Many children across the country are staying in hospitals for weeks or months even after they are healthy enough to leave. This happens because there is often no safe place for them to go, especially if they have complex medical needs or mental health issues. Families may struggle to find home health aides or specialized foster care placements to support their child's recovery. These long stays, sometimes called "social stays," can be traumatic for children and very expensive for hospitals and states.
AI-generated summary of the source article. Not medical advice.
Key takeaways
- Children often remain hospitalized because their families cannot find or afford the home nursing care needed to keep them safe.
- The practice of keeping kids in hospitals beyond medical necessity is a national problem involving many states.
- Shortages in the home healthcare workforce and limited foster care placements contribute to hospital boarding delays.
- Long stays in acute care settings can expose children to trauma and prevent them from attending school.
- Insurers often stop paying for hospital stays once a child is medically cleared for discharge.
- Some states are considering new laws to speed up placements and reimburse hospitals for these extended stays.
Some children are healthy enough to leave the hospital after a medical stay but have no place to go. Across the country, the practice of allowing children to remain hospitalized “beyond medical necessity” has become a costly problem, and states have struggled to address the issue.
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