November is National Adoption month, which makes the Program Review and Investigations Committee report on Kentucky’s foster care and adoption system very timely. In May 2016, the Program Review and Investigations Committee voted to initiate a study of Kentucky’s foster care system. The Committee’s Legislative Research Commission (LRC) staff looked at relevant statutes and regulations, evaluated agency procedures and practices, and made recommendations for improvement.
What the Committee found was informative and important as the state legislature considers making significant changes to the system to ensure children and families fare better once the Cabinet for Health and Family Services gets involved. The Cabinet has recently made changes internally to better address workload and supports provided to kinship caregivers.
The necessary commitment and support to make changes within Kentucky’s foster care system is evident from the Governor’s office, legislature, judicial system, Cabinet leaders, and other agencies involved in the system in some way. There is a growing interest in identifying needed changes by several groups for the best interest of the children and families involved and the state budget.
The Committee’s analysis of the data highlighted where the state needs to focus heavily on improvements. The report found that, “more than 11,000 children were in the Kentucky out-of-home care system at some time during 2016, a 15.4 percent increase since 2012. The number of children in out-of-home care who are available for adoption has increased by more than 17 percent since 2012.”
The report also found that, “over the past 5 years, only approximately 44 percent of the children in out-of-home care who are available for adoption have been adopted annually.” This means that 56% of children awaiting adoption, continued to wait.
We know that children who spend time in out-of-home care have poorer health and mental health, educational, and social outcomes. This means that getting children to permanency quicker typically means they fare better than those who linger in care, whether that is though reunification with their parents, permanent placement with a family member, or adoption by a family member or non-family member. Children who age-out of the system without a connection to family are likely to experience instability in young adulthood that can lead to unemployment, homelessness, and interaction with the criminal justice system.
The Committee found that there were processes in which data should or could be captured by the courts or Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) to better inform why a child’s placement changes or the number of caseloads workers carry. It is critical that the courts and DCBS have the supports they need to address the increasing number of children coming into the foster care system.
The report’s recommendations focused on ways to better support the workforce, whether that is through increased salaries for caseworkers or the ability to better capture and analyze data to inform improving practices both in the courts and DCBS. The recommendations also included changes to reduce the administrative burden on workers so they can spend more time working with children and families.
Overall, the recommendations looked at the current functioning of the system and ways to improve it through further analysis of internal processes, more rigorous data collection, statute change, or increased funding for DCBS to increase salaries to be more competitive in the workforce.
If you’d like a copy of the report, contact the Legislative Research Commission.
the answers are literally right in front you and its sick that you people can do something but you simply DO NOTHING when there is a legality allowing maybe even demanding that children be placed in foster care based solely on the individuals who are allowed to freely pass their personal opinions on weather or not a child might be abused one day all because some other individual simply told a story that may or may not be true of a child in a home was abused neglected or dependent which is also opinions not facts unless the worker sees clear signs of abuse neglect dependent AND on top of this for some reason CPS in KY are also allowed to work along side law enforcement as if they too are some kind of trusted law unity which we all know they are not due to the lack of knowledge and training to be places in such a high seat of authority.. this is why there are so many children in foster care… the state legislator should know this and the fact that you sit up here on your sick high horse and not at all doing a damn thing to fix this but instead call out Kentuckians for being child abusers no we are victims yes that’s right victims of your stupid failing program the statistics tell you this loud and clear and now im telling you and you cant tell me that hundreds of other parents haven’t tried talking to you as well and you still do nothing all the while reaping up the profits from it you are sick sick sick and very much so apart if not all of the reason that thousands of children are found dead DEAD DEAD DEAD !!!! all because someone reported that there were dishes in the sink yes this is an actual reason for the removal of my children my children were being taught to do their chores that night and all because of someone’s opinion i spend my days without them and them without me i have called your office and i have emailed your office iv climbed the chain of command with this everyday for the past 321 days reaching out but nobody helps and i know im not the only one who has reached out with no resolution how do i know … BECAUSE THEY ARE MY KIDS AND THEY NEED THEIR MOTHER !!!!! because a mothers children were stolen from someone else home their blood family member is who your worker stole my children from and the worker did so with out a warrant with out notice and has still yet to tell me exactly what that date was i had to find out from someone that my sister told because she was so upset that she couldn’t talk to me I AM OUTRAGED due to your incompetence to see that this is not ok not even for the sole purpose for you and your people to make money… my family has not at all whatso ever benefited from the program you force us to be in all the while i am being hacked by your worker i am being sabotaged from getting ahead of this by your worker with every breath i take i am being drug through court that chastises me every other week i am currently unable to see my kids because nobody shows up with my kids at the visit times iv agreed to i a currently not aloud to contact the foster parents or the worker because the GAL filed a motion to suspend my visits which was only two time this entire time not due to anything iv done on my part but what this worker choses to say and do to me that day back when she antically took my kids from my sisters she then kept them away from me for months with absolutely no word or regards to our fucking needs at all you are the problem not the parents you are the abuser neglecters rappers killers in my book until you show me other wise and do your JOB and if you cant handle it then get a new job and that gos for your caseworker frauds too who cried and cried that their work loads were too much for their amount of pay and then when they got their way and was able then to see the only way for them to get paid more for their jobs that are not even at all whatsoever necessary to have in our communities anyway because the police need to stand beside them during each investigation because they don’t have the degree to actually be of any kid of law enforcer themselves anyway so the report should have just gone to the police to begin with it is wild that you the state legislator doesn’t know this now i am pissed. i am pissed because you think us parents cant see what your doing not a damn thing during this entire case made a lick of since except the scam to make yourself money ….and to make you look even more pathetic i will add this i was a single mother of 4 children since i was 16 years old and was able to maintain housing enough income to cloths feed entertain teach and show my complete unconditionally love on a level that matches each of their individually needs i paid off a Lexus and started my own business that we all had fun building together and never once did i have to go crying to the governor for more money. there is more to life than money ever think about just simply getting rid of it all together yeah that’s a great idea your not to embarrassed to cry to the entire state that you needed money so you should be a pro at actually doing something to make a positive change for not just yourself for also the other people who live on this planet too if you do not do something right now to get my kids back to me as well as everyone else who has reached out to you that you know now doesn’t actually need you foster home then you stay your ass off the media making statements about innocent people just to make yourself glorified and making it possible for even more people to believe your lies which could in turn compel these extra people to feel the need to help your to help your selfish fraudulent stupid ass and that will cost us all even more money and oppressions on and on like you are letting it do until we all reach the point of self destruction of the humane race better start iv got the solutions iv got the plan to turn this all around so that we can start experiencing heaven on earth instead of hell on earth it is so simple hopefully you will take what I’m saying to you in a way positive way if no you make things only worse step off that horse and take a step to actually
Hi Megan – we suggest sharing your story with the state’s Office of the Ombudsman and Administrative Review (OOAR): https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/os/omb/Pages/default.aspx. The phone number is (502) 564-5497 or email CHFS.Listens@ky.gov. You can also take action by contacting your state legislator — you can look up their contact information here: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/findyourlegislator/findyourlegislator.html