By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
The public is invited to virtual town hall meetings this month being hosted by Citizen Foster Care Review Boards statewide to discuss improving outcomes for Kentucky children and families involved in the state foster care system.
Anyone with concerns about the system and/or ideas on how communities can better support families is encouraged to attend one of the regional meetings that will take place on four dates.
The meetings are among the reforms called for in legislation passed by lawmakers in 2018, to address issues with foster care and adoption processes. The legislation requires the Citizen Foster Care Review Board, or CFCRB, to offer regional meetings at least twice a year to get public input on the foster care system.
The September town hall meetings will focus on support for relatives and fictive kin caregivers for children who would otherwise be in foster homes unfamiliar to them. Fictive kin is someone who isn’t related to the child by birth, adoption or marriage but has strong ties to the child or the child’s biological parent(s), siblings or half-siblings.
Placements with relatives and fictive kin can reduce the trauma of out-of-home placement for children and reinforce their cultural identities. Previously, fictive kin had to have a direct connection to the child. The Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation this year to include a connection to the child’s family.
Here is the schedule and counties covered in the four virtual town hall meetings, all of which take place from 11 a.m. to noon, CT and Noon-1 p.m., ET. Advance registration is required.
• Sept. 19 Register here. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link before the meeting. This is for residents of Bullitt, Fayette, and Jefferson counties.
• Sept. 21 Register here. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link before the meeting. This is for residents of Anderson, Boone, Bourbon, Boyle, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Clark, Estill, Fleming, Franklin, Gallatin, Garrard, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Jessamine, Kenton, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, Mason, Mercer, Nicholas, Oldham, Owen, Owsley, Pendleton, Robertson, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble, and Woodford counties.
• Sept. 27 Register here. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link before the meeting. This is for residents of Allen, Ballard, Barren, Breckinridge, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, LaRue, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Meade, Metcalfe, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Union, Warren, and Webster counties.
• Sept. 30 Register here. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link before the meeting. This is for residents of Adair, Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Floyd, Green, Greenup, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Marion, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Taylor, Washington, Wayne, Whitley, and Wolfe counties.
Findings from the meetings will be reported to the state CFCRB and included in its annual recommendations to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, Governor and General Assembly.