Updated March 1, 2024 Life as anyone knows it can change with one knock or phone call.  “I’m from Child Protective Services. There’s an allegation of child abuse or neglect in your household I need to discuss with you. May I enter?” “This is the local child services agency. We have your niece at our office. Can you be here in the next hour; otherwise, we will need to put her in foster care.” [...]

I have a story to tell you.  When I gave birth to my twins, I fully anticipated being greeted outside the labor and delivery door by the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes Patrol to begin my weekly checks for life. I mean, don’t all parents get money to do the hard, often thankless job of raising the next generation?  Data from the U.S. Agriculture Department estimates it costs $17,000 a year to raise a child. To take [...]

This post appeared as an op-ed in the Herald Leader on July 6, 2023. By Valerie Frost and Carla Stamper June is National Reunification Month. It is an annual reminder of the true intention of foster care–a temporary measure to keep children stable and safe with the ultimate purpose of reuniting them with their family. This isn't always what happens though, and not for the reasons you may think. Nationally, less than half of children [...]

Though it has only been a couple months since the last Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) Kentucky update, the drive continues to push noted progress. Across the Commonwealth, child, family, and community well-being remain a high priority and collaborative emphasis. Here are a few recent TFSC Kentucky happenings: TFSC Kentucky Team Thriving Families, Safer Children is first a national movement. Beneath the core guiding organizations, it is a collective statewide effort through a group of [...]