The public is invited to discuss ways to improve outcomes for Kentucky children and families at virtual town hall meetings this month about the state foster care system. Anyone interested in this topic is encouraged to attend one of the regional meetings. The meeting for NKY counties os August 23.
Registration is required.
Citizen Foster Care Review Boards statewide are hosting the town halls. Due to confidentiality, specific cases will not be discussed.
The town halls will focus on the results of the Thriving Families, Safer Children meetings that took place last summer in Kentucky. TFSC is a national initiative to move from traditional child protection systems such as foster care to programs designed to support the well-being of children and families, prevent child abuse and keep families together whenever possible. TFSC is a first-of-its-kind effort of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Prevent Child Abuse America. The partnership is at work in 22 sites, including Kentucky. Learn more about TFSC at kcoj.info/TFSC.
The following questions regarding the TFSC meetings in Kentucky are on the agenda for the town hall events:
• What needs have been identified to support safe, healthy families?
• What barriers are families facing in trying to remain intact and protect their children?
• What are potential solutions to help keep children safe and prevent child abuse and neglect?
• Have trends been identified to help keep children safe without having to enter foster care?
• What impact can TFSC have for children already in foster care?
There will be time for open discussion.
Findings from the town hall meetings will be reported to the state CFCRB and included in its annual recommendations to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the governor and legislature. The meetings are among the reforms called for in House Bill 1, which was passed in 2018 to address issues with foster care and adoption processes. The legislation requires CFCRBs to offer regional meetings at least twice a year to get public input on the foster care system.
For more information, email cfcrb@kycourts.net.
Town Hall Schedule
Aug. 23
11 a.m.-noon CDT/noon-1 p.m. EDT
Registration required at kcoj.info/Aug232023. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link before the meeting.
For residents of these counties: 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.
Citizen Foster Care Review Boards are teams of court-appointed volunteers who make a difference in the lives of local children in foster care in Kentucky. The children are in care due to dependency, neglect or abuse.
The 700-plus volunteers review cases and make recommendations to state courts and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services on behalf of the children. The volunteers work to ensure that children’s needs are met while in care and that they are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.
The CHFS administers the state foster care program.
The Kentucky General Assembly created the Kentucky CFCRB in 1982 to decrease the time children spend in out-of-home care. In Fiscal Year 2022, volunteers reviewed 21,376 cases involving 12,947 children in out-of-home care. View the latest CFCRB annual report at bit.ly/CFCRBannualreport2022.
Snapshot from annual report
