Kansas in 1996 became the first state to privatize its foster-care system. Now, as other states look to follow Kansas’ lead, the system is being criticized by not only lawmakers but parents who have lost custody of their children.

TOPEKA — Kansas in 1996 became the first state to privatize its foster care system. The goal? Make the system more responsive to the needs of vulnerable children.

Readers pay extremely close attention to journalists’ choice of words. They often remind me that there’s a world of difference between almost-synonyms such as “confess” versus “disclose,” “happy” versus “joyful.” Sister Mary Laura Huddleston, chaplain and archivist of the American Royal, phoned me last Thursday with her concerns over a story in that morning’s Kansas City Star on Page A6. The ...