Child Welfare System

Protect Kids from Cuts

Protect Kids from Cuts

On January 29 the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services announced cuts to some vital programs for children, in response to a projected $86.6 million budget shortfall for the Department of Community Based Services. The planned cuts target the Kinship Care Program and the Child Care Assistance Program both of which affect thousands of families and children across the Commonwealth. Cutting the Kinship Care and Child Care Assistance Programs will cost the state more [...]

By admin|2013-02-04T16:23:29-05:00February 4th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|

Citizen Review Panel in Lexington Takes their Charge to Heart

Citizen Review Panel in Lexington Takes their Charge to Heart

Guest Post by Blake Jones, PhD Anne Frank once said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Members of the Southern Bluegrass Citizen Review Panels (CRP) have taken that to heart. The CRP is a group of citizen volunteers in the Southern Bluegrass Region who are federally mandated to conduct a yearly evaluation of the Department for Community Based Services. However, in addition to the [...]

By Patricia Tennen|2013-01-15T09:00:08-05:00January 15th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Restraint and Seclusion Policy Change Approved

Child advocates, students, and parents across the state received good news this week when the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee approved the Kentucky Department of Education’s new restraint and seclusion policy proposal. As we recently discussed, restraints and seclusion can have terrible consequences for Kentucky children. The policy change will enhance school safety for both students and staff by limiting the use of restraint and seclusion, educating teachers on how to safely conduct restraints when absolutely necessary, and [...]

By Tara Grieshop-Goodwin|2012-12-20T11:42:59-05:00December 20th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|

trans-par-ent [trans-pair-uh nt, -par-], adjective

trans·par·ent [trans-pair-uh nt, -par-] , adjective Having the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance so that bodies situated beyond or behind can be distinctly seen. Admitting the passage of light through interstices. So sheer as to permit light to pass through; diaphanous. “Transparency” is the word of the year in the world of child welfare in Kentucky. The word gets tossed around so easily among advocates and others interested in improving the “system”, especially [...]

By Lacey McNary|2012-12-20T11:39:36-05:00December 20th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Good, bad news on child fatalities

The following letter was printed in the Courier-Journal. You could not open The Courier-Journal last winter without recoiling at the latest tragedy and cover-up around child fatalities due to abuse and neglect. A turning point for me came on a snowy February Saturday morning when 300 Kentucky citizens from 80 counties came together around a summit, sponsored by Kentucky Youth Advocates, about this issue. That morning, there was genuine outrage as the Cabinet for Health and [...]

By admin|2012-11-19T11:40:30-05:00November 19th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

New County-level Data on Child Welfare Available

This week Kentucky Youth Advocates added four new child welfare indicators to the KIDS COUNT Data Center. These four new indicators span the continuum of child welfare decision-making points and, coupled with the other indicators already on the Data Center, provide Kentuckians a wealth of information on vulnerable children and families in our state. One new indicator shows the prevalence of certain risk factors in cases where child abuse or neglect was found to have [...]

By Amy Swann|2012-10-25T11:29:58-04:00October 25th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|

A New Day for Accountability and Transparency in Child Protection

I’m envisioning the days leading up to September 3, 2012 when – I predict — U of L will have simply clobbered the Cats in the first gridiron clash of the season. What are both coaching staffs and players doing? Film analysis. What went well and what went wrong in past games? What improvements can be made in practice schemes, starting lineups and play selection? In other words, both schools are trying to improve their [...]

By Terry Brooks|2012-07-19T13:05:17-04:00July 19th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Summit Participants Propose Solutions to End Child Abuse Deaths

More than 200 advocates from across Kentucky gathered in Louisville last Saturday at the Kentucky Summit to End Child Abuse Deaths. Participants heard from a range of diverse perspectives including legislators, judges, professionals from multiple disciplines, and officials from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. After the morning panels, attendees at each table prioritized solutions for ending child abuse deaths in Kentucky. The solutions from the table discussions were compiled, and the group at [...]

By admin|2012-01-20T11:44:51-05:00January 20th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

New County-Level Child Welfare Data Posted to the KIDS COUNT Data Center

Data on child abuse and neglect cases in each county and the state as a whole for calendar year 2010 has been posted to the KIDS COUNT Data Center. This new data portrays some discouraging trends for vulnerable children in the Commonwealth, but as Kentuckians we can use our ingenuity to implement innovative solutions to prevent harm to children. Sadly, the number of substantiated child victims of abuse/neglect is on the rise after gradual declines [...]

By Amy Swann|2011-11-23T12:12:04-05:00November 23rd, 2011|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security|