On Nov. 3, 2026, governor races will be held in 36 states. At least 15 of those governors will be brand new because term limits guarantee turnover, according to 270 To Win. That means 15 states where the next governor will soon make one of the most consequential appointments in state government: the person responsible for the safety and well being of the state’s most vulnerable children.
This matters because in child welfare, leadership decisions ripple far beyond politics. They determine whether children are safe, whether families feel supported and whether staff have the backing they need to do impossible work. And if you have been in this field long enough, you know the pattern.
A system starts to make progress. Children are safer. Families feel heard. The workforce sees real momentum. You can feel the difference not only in the numbers but in the offices and living rooms where this work happens.
Then leadership changes. Priorities shift. Energy fades. Within a year or two, that progress begins to deteriorate.
This cycle of four years forward and four years back is one of the most damaging realities in our field. Families do not experience it as politics. They experience it as instability when they are already at their most vulnerable. Frontline staff carry the burden of inconsistency long before any audit or report shows it. Trust is fragile, and when it cracks, children and families pay the price.
Too often, systems are built around one strong leader instead of around strong values. A good director can inspire, build momentum, and move the work forward. But if the next person does not understand child welfare, or comes in with a law enforcement lens that misses the heart of the work, the progress unravels quickly.
That does not mean a leader must know every policy on day one. But they must be deeply curious, ask why we do things the way we do, and move quickly to understand how decisions affect families and frontline staff, with a clear focus on strengthening families before systems intervene.
That is why governors must take these appointments seriously. This is not a place to reward campaign loyalty or check a box. Not everyone can do this job. This is complex, high-risk work that requires judgment, steadiness and the ability to lead through scrutiny.
It requires someone who knows the work, who can develop other leaders and who can leave the system stronger than they found it. When the wrong person is appointed, the damage is not immediate or loud; it shows up over time in rising turnover, broken trust and families who disengage. Appointing the wrong person is not just a leadership mistake. It is a decision that impacts thousands of lives.
So what has to change? First, governors must make informed appointments. Leadership in child welfare is too important for guesswork.
Governors should be looking not only for experience, but for leaders with the drive to act, the humility to learn, and a clear commitment to preventing family separation whenever safely possible. Managing foster care well matters, but reducing the need for foster care by strengthening families matters even more.
A strong child welfare leader understands how decisions land on families and frontline staff, not just how they read on paper. They intentionally build a culture of safety where staff can raise concerns, make sound decisions and ask for help without fear because unsafe systems produce unsafe outcomes. They build and coach other leaders so progress does not depend on one person.
Effective leaders know how to meet standards while still centering safety, stability and well-being for both staff and families. They understand that real sustainability shows up when no one is watching, not just when the spotlight is on. They are willing to modernize systems to reduce burnout and improve decision-making. And above all, they are anchored to a simple truth: this work exists to help families thrive.
When decisions drift toward optics, politics or fear of criticism, systems lose their way. Whether a governor changes leadership or keeps the current team, that choice itself sends a signal to the workforce about what matters and what will be tolerated. Governors should seek leaders who make timely decisions and who can hold that “why” steady, even under pressure.
Once they are put in position, these leaders must be allowed to embed quality into daily practice, and use tools that make decisions better and faster. And they must also be given the space and support to keep children, parents and kin at the center of the work. That means giving leaders the authority to invest upstream, challenge outdated practices, and move with urgency when families need support, not just when systems are in crisis.
Child welfare should not reset every time leadership changes. Families do not live in election cycles, so they cannot wait four years to see whether their system is stable.
We owe it to children, families and staff to build systems that stand the test of time. The stakes are too high and the cost of failure is far too great.
