Health News
- Cabinet Files Appeal To Prevent Releasing Full Child Abuse Records; Beshear Backs Decision
On the day the state was supposed to release unadulterated records on deaths and near deaths from child abuse, under a court order, it filed an appeal to stop the process. And though Gov. Steve Beshear had ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services...
- More Transparency, Accountability Needed Regarding Child Abuse, Group Plans To Tell Legislators
To decrease the number of children who are killed or nearly killed by abuse and neglect, there needs to be improved transparency and accountability at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. This was the top recommendation made by a group of social...
- Lawmakers Grill State Officials At Hearing On Child Abuse And Records Of It; One Says Health Secretary Should Resign
Janie Miller, secretary for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, should resign, said one key legislator at a committee hearing yesterday. The frustration of Sen. Julie Denton (Lexington Herald-Leader photo) stemmed in part from the manner in which...
- Head Of State Social Services Steps Down Amid Controversy
In the wake of controversy about how her state agency handled child-abuse investigations, Kentucky's commissioner of social services has stepped down. No other details were confirmed about the resignation of Patricia Wilson, who was a career social-services...
- Beshear Says Hand Over Child Abuse Records; Cabinet Immediately Files For More Time
Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the release of "state records of children who have been killed or nearly killed as a result of abuse and neglect," reports Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader. (Photo by H-L's Pablo Alcala) "Transparency will be...
Health News
18 Kentucky children died from child abuse or neglect last year, down from 33 in 2009, but report is incomplete, critics say
A report by the the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shows 18 Kentucky children died from abuse or neglect in the past fiscal year, down from 33 the year before. Ten were part of families that had been involved with state social service officers, reports Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal.
The report is required by state law, but was a much shorter version than it has been in years past. This year's document was 15 pages long, compared to the 29-page report from last year and "provides limited information and omits much of the detail of past annual reports," Yetter writes.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said the drop in deaths is good news, but called the scaled-down version of the report "a failure," saying it made it difficult to compare findings from past years. It was also three months late in being released.
"They are scrambling to get it out three months late," he said. "At a time when this issue needs some transparency and more visibility, they have given us the Reader's Digest version."
Lawmakers have scheduled a meeting Dec. 19 to talk to cabinet officials about the issue of child abuse deaths and to review the report, the latest sign the issue is starting to attract more attention. Earlier this week, Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the release of records of abuse in which children died, but the cabinet immediately filed a motion saying it needed more time.
In 2009, a federal government report found Kentucky had the highest rate of child abuse deaths with 41 deaths based on 2007 data ? the most recent at the time ? from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2010, Kentucky dropped to 19th place with 22 deaths based on the 2008 data. The 2009 numbers showed Kentucky ranked fourth. (Read more)
- Cabinet Files Appeal To Prevent Releasing Full Child Abuse Records; Beshear Backs Decision
On the day the state was supposed to release unadulterated records on deaths and near deaths from child abuse, under a court order, it filed an appeal to stop the process. And though Gov. Steve Beshear had ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services...
- More Transparency, Accountability Needed Regarding Child Abuse, Group Plans To Tell Legislators
To decrease the number of children who are killed or nearly killed by abuse and neglect, there needs to be improved transparency and accountability at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. This was the top recommendation made by a group of social...
- Lawmakers Grill State Officials At Hearing On Child Abuse And Records Of It; One Says Health Secretary Should Resign
Janie Miller, secretary for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, should resign, said one key legislator at a committee hearing yesterday. The frustration of Sen. Julie Denton (Lexington Herald-Leader photo) stemmed in part from the manner in which...
- Head Of State Social Services Steps Down Amid Controversy
In the wake of controversy about how her state agency handled child-abuse investigations, Kentucky's commissioner of social services has stepped down. No other details were confirmed about the resignation of Patricia Wilson, who was a career social-services...
- Beshear Says Hand Over Child Abuse Records; Cabinet Immediately Files For More Time
Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the release of "state records of children who have been killed or nearly killed as a result of abuse and neglect," reports Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader. (Photo by H-L's Pablo Alcala) "Transparency will be...