By Theda Simpson-Mosby, member of KY SEAT
Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time for reflection, advocacy, and an urgent call to action to protect our families and communities. For me, this month holds profound personal significance. As a mother, advocate, and member of the Kentucky Statewide Birth Parent Advisory Council (KY SEAT), my journey through the complexities of the Child Welfare System has shaped my commitment to fostering change and providing hope for families facing unimaginable challenges.
Turning Pain into Purpose
In 2020, during the global pandemic, my family faced a series of life-altering events. We tragically lost my husband and son’s father in a logging accident, and just months later, my then-five-year-old son was removed from my home by Child Protective Services (CPS). The devastation of this removal compounded our grief and highlighted systemic shortcomings that left families like mine navigating uncharted waters without clear guidelines or contingency plans in a crisis.
My personal experience illuminated a grim reality: my family’s suffering was not isolated. This realization became the catalyst for my resolve to turn our pain into a purposeful mission to advocate for systemic reform and ensure that other families never endure what we went through.
Breaking Barriers and Reimagining Family Support
Kentucky’s Child Welfare System has long focused on protecting the child, with more limited consideration on the broader family dynamic. This approach, while well-intentioned, can overlook critical opportunities to address root causes of challenges and prevent removals altogether. It’s time for a paradigm shift—to view families holistically and without bias or stigma. The goal should not only be reunification but prevention of removal whenever possible.
Imagine a system that works to empower families from the start, breaking down barriers and offering transparent, family-friendly processes. Kentucky is beginning to embrace this vision through initiatives like the Alternative Response Model, Community Response, the OPT-In for Families initiative, reunification efforts through New Allies, and even work with lived experts partnering with the Administrative Office of the Courts. These are groundbreaking approaches that prioritize collaboration, prevention, and support over separation and intervention.
Brandi’s story exemplifies what a focus on prevention and early interventions can do for more positive family outcomes.
Brandi’s Story: How Lack of Support and Intervention can Lead to Devastating Consequences
Several years ago, I was working two jobs to provide for my family. I trusted my daughter to go to school on her own, thinking she was in good hands. However, one fateful day, when I was suffering from tonsillitis and running a fever, I couldn’t leave the house to accompany her. I tried to contact the court to reschedule an important hearing, but no one could help. That night, I received a phone call that forever changed my life.
My daughter had been picked up from her boyfriend’s house by a sheriff’s deputy and a CPS worker. The feeling of utter defeat overwhelmed me. I hadn’t known that my daughter had been skipping school due to bullying and being in a violent relationship—things she hadn’t told me at the time. I felt completely alone and hopeless in that moment, and I realized that, despite my best efforts, I hadn’t been equipped with the right resources to help her.
If there had been earlier intervention—perhaps a call from the school or someone from the community offering support—we might have been able to work together to address the issues she was facing. The fact that I was not notified sooner or given the opportunity to address her struggles before things escalated was a devastating blow.
It took me six months to get my daughter back into my care, and during that time, I learned a painful lesson: prevention and communication are key. If we had known about the issues she was facing, we could have accessed resources, such as counseling or other support services, that might have helped us work through the situation together.
The Power of Lived Experience
As someone who has endured the flaws of the system firsthand, I am honored to lend my voice and experience to all these collaborations that move toward prevention and help for families not just when they are in crisis but before they reach that point.
These initiatives being launched currently all over the state represent hope for a brighter future and systematic change that is so desperately needed for the future, our families and the structure of how they look and live has changed in the past 50 years. It is now time for the system that supports them to also be updated and changed according to match. Early results show families receiving meaningful support without the trauma of separation, proving that change is possible.
The data already being received from the initial rollout of these programs are more than statistics—they are testimonies of empowerment and transformation. This is a leap in the right direction, validating my journey and the advocacy work of many others.
A Call to Action for Child Abuse Prevention Month
As we observe Child Abuse Prevention Month, I urge all Kentuckians—parents, social workers, attorneys, judges, and community members—to embrace change and work together toward a more compassionate and effective system. Prevention begins with understanding, empathy, and collaboration. By supporting initiatives like Alternative Response, OPT-In for Families, and Community Response we are amplifying voices with lived experiences, and we can build a foundation where families are supported, children are safe, and hope thrives.
To me, this is not just a professional commitment but a deeply personal mission to ensure my experiences and those of others are not in vain. Together, we can create a future where families like mine are empowered, protected, and never forgotten.
Thank you for standing with us and fostering a new tomorrow. Let Child Abuse Prevention Month be a reminder that change is possible and worth fighting for.
Learn more about KY SEAT at kyyouth.org/kyseat/ and find resources on navigating Kentucky’s child welfare system at kythrivingfamilies.org.
Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash
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