Kentucky’s Thriving Families, Safer Children Efforts
By Jeanna C., KY SEAT Member When we think of child protection, what usually comes to mind is how child abuse and neglect is portrayed by the media. We might think of a child who is subject to harsh and unusual punishment or deprived of basic needs. This can lead us to assume that Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement exists for bad parents who do bad things to kids. What we may not know is [...]
By Jeanna C., KY SEAT Member March is Parenting Awareness Month, and KY SEAT is taking this opportunity to celebrate all the amazing moms, dads, stepmoms and dads, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers who work tirelessly to raise happy and healthy children! Parenting is a challenging but incredibly rewarding journey. It takes patience, love, and a lot of strength. This month, we aim to appreciate and recognize the crucial impact parents have on shaping their children's [...]
On January 5th, 2021, Kentucky submitted a letter of intent to join the national Thriving Families, Safer Children movement to equip and empower individuals and communities to support families. Our overall goal as one of the participating site teams was to establish universal health promotion for children, youth, and caregivers through proactive protective strengthening. Simply put, we want families to readily have what they need to be whole and manage life so they can stay [...]
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.” [...]
Turkey for Thanksgiving is a hassle. There, I said it. Why are we so bound by tradition for the sake of doing what’s always been done? This year, during my post-meal mindless social media scrolling, I was proud to witness several of my timeline pals boast throwing the classic main dish imperative out the window for less complicated options including roast beef and an even bolder resistance, smoked salmon. Similarly outdated and long overdue for [...]
Kentucky is now in its third year as a participating site team of the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) national commitment to child, youth, and family well-being. The vision of the movement is a world in which all children, youth, and families live in just and equitable communities with the supports, opportunities, and resources they need to thrive and remain free of unnecessary child welfare system involvement. Read on for an update on some of [...]
All Kentuckians are mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect. But this responsibility may have subliminally conditioned us to have our eyes open when around parents and stay on constant alert for the worst. We as a society may have become too preoccupied waiting for the anticipated other shoe to drop that we forgot to look at ourselves and see what role we play in the health promotion of families around us. While it’s important [...]
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 [...]
“Hope means we all have a role to play in ensuring that all children in America grow up safely in thriving families and supportive communities.” Casey Family Programs aims to inspire hope, and according to their recent 2023 Signature Report overviewing the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) collaborative, there are reasons to have hope and to act on it. Since 2005, the number of children in care across the nation has decreased by 23%, and [...]
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 [...]
