By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern
Twenty-six Kentucky counties need volunteers to join Citizen Foster Care Review Boards to aid in evaluating cases of children in foster care.
Citizen Foster Care Review Boards review cases of children in the custody of the Department for Community Based Services in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, according to the program’s website. The children were placed in foster care due to dependency, neglect and abuse, but their cases are not final. They may include children whose adoptions have not been finalized or have returned home and young adults with extended out-of-home commitments due to educational purposes.
A press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts said the counties in dire need of volunteers are Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Hardin, Johnson, Kenton, Laurel, Lawrence, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin, Mason, McCreary, Montgomery, Morgan, Powell, Robertson, Rowan, Whitley and Wolfe. However, volunteers also are needed statewide.
“It takes a lot of wonderful people to do this meaningful work, and we are greatly in need of more volunteers to join us,” said Rosalyn Patton-Pelt, state chair of the foster care review board, in a statement.
Volunteers typically review cases one day a month. However, before they can begin, they must apply for consideration, consent to a criminal record and central registry check and complete six hours of initial training. A family court or district court judge recommends volunteers to the local review board. Detailed information, including how to submit an online volunteer application, can be found on the Kentucky Courts of Justice website.
The Administrative Office of the Courts said thousands of Kentucky children are placed in foster and other out-of-home care each year. The Citizen Foster Care Review Boards conduct interactive reviews on the children’s cases and make recommendations to the cabinet.
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