This was originally posted as an op-ed by the Kosair Charities Face It Movement in the Courier Journal and Kentucky Today. By Dr. MELISSA CURRIE AND DR. CHRISTINA HOWARD It’s finally fall in the commonwealth, which means cooler temperatures, leaves changing, and college football season. As child abuse pediatricians at University of Kentucky and University of Louisville, we are well aware of the deep rivalry when it comes to our sports programs, and we both proudly support [...]

The Department for Community Based Services’ annual report on child fatalities and near fatalities due to abuse and neglect was released last month. This report is mandated by law and provides information on the fatalities and near fatalities due to the maltreatment of children under the age of 18 in Kentucky. The report details data on fatalities and near fatalities and discusses demographic information as well as perpetrator information and risk factors present in the [...]

There are nearly 100,000 Kentucky kids living in kinship care. While beneficial for children, kinship care can pose considerable financial, legal, and emotional challenges for caregivers. Research has shown that kinship caregivers go to great lengths to meet the needs of the relative children, however, their efforts often come at the expense of their own personal care. Social support contributes to caregivers’ ability to provide a nurturing environment for the children in their care [...]

When children cannot remain safely with their parents, grandparents, other relatives, and close family friends often step up to help raise them. There have been a lot of changes over the last few months in Kentucky around services and supports related to relatives and close family friends raising children, also known as kinship care and fictive kin care. To learn more, check out the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ new KY FACES website. If [...]