Until now, they were the children no one wanted to talk about. They’re the ones with so many problems no one is likely to adopt them, ever.

Everyone who’s met them knows there’s little hope they’ll ever be embraced by family. They are too old, too damaged, too risky.

They’ve spent their childhoods moving from one foster home to another. They can be sweet one minute, violent the next. All but a few are teen-agers.

They’re parked in the state’s adoption system not because it’s where they belong but because it’s the only place left for them.

“The last time we counted them, back in March (2001), there were 123,” said Melissa Ness, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Kansas Children’s Service League, the state’s adoption contractor.

Ness said she’s approached Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services officials about creating a new program for these children.

She did not rule out a state-run orphanage, though social service experts have long pushed for complete elimination of state institutions such as orphanages.

“It’s important that every option be considered,” Ness said, “So, yes, it ought to be on the table with everything else. But am I for it? No, I’m not.”

Ness said she doesn’t know what the new program should look like or how it would be funded.

“We haven’t gotten that far,” she said.

But it doesn’t make sense, she said, to have children in a system that’s geared toward adoption when they’re unlikely to be adopted.

Marilyn Jacobson, assistant secretary in charge of children and family planning at SRS, confirmed that she and Ness have talked about creating a new program.

“The question of who’s responsible for kids who are likely to ‘age out’ (reach adulthood within) the system has been around a long time,” Jacobson said.

The solution, she said, remains elusive.

“It’s very difficult because on one hand, I don’t want to ever give anyone the impression that we’re giving up on kids just because these adoptions are difficult, doesn’t mean they don’t happen. They do happen.

“But there’s a point where, realistically, we have to recognize that not every child is going to be adopted. And we need to be asking ourselves: How can we best meet the needs of this small group of children?”

Lawmakers have not yet been involved in the discussion.

“I’m ready to talk about it,” said Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita. “I’m glad to hear we’ve reached the point where we can identify these kids because in the past, before privatization, we had no idea how many there were. We’re still responsible for these kids.”

Kansas privatized most of its child welfare services in 1996-97.