Health News
- Website Eases Application Process For Snap, Formerly Food Stamps, And Promotes Healthy Food
With a federal grant, the state Department for Community Based Services has launched a customer service website to promote healthy foods by assisting the families receiving food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,...
- More Child-welfare Indicators Added To Kids Count Data Site
Kentucky Youth Advocates has added four new child welfare indicators to the agency's Kids Count Data Center. These four new indicators provide Kentuckians and those who report on them with more information on vulnerable children and families in the...
- Six Of 41 Child-abuse Fatalities Show Improper Follow-up By Cabinet For Health And Family Services, Herald-leader Analysis Finds
The way child-abuse deaths are reviewed in Kentucky continues to be problematic. Looking at the 41 child fatalities in 2009 and 2010, Lexington Herald-Leader reporters Beth Musgrave and Bill Estep found at least six cases in which the Cabinet for...
- Health And Family Cabinet Continues To Withhold More Information In Copies Of Child Abuse Records Than Judge Allowed
The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services released three more death and near-death cases involving child abuse or neglect Friday under court order, but continued to withhold critical information. It has appealed the order. The 2009 cases...
- 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...
Health News
New state web portal eases non-emergency reporting of child and adult abuse and neglect
The state Department for Community Based Services has launched a web-based portal for reporting child and adult abuse and neglect in non-emergency situations. According to DCBS Commissioner Teresa James, the new system should enhance the current intake system, especially for those situations that do not require an immediate response from the department's staff.
Law enforcement and judicial officials, medical professionals, educators, child and senior caregivers and other advocates have been using the program since July, giving feedback to DCBS staff to help refine the system for the general public. According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services press release, "Users of the portal are required to enter an email contact and will receive an immediate, automated response that their online report has been made. Centralized intake staff will review reports as they are submitted. Users will receive a response message within 48 hours only if their report has not been accepted because it doesn?t meet criteria for investigation. Reports that are accepted do not generate a follow-up email message. The reporting portal has several mandatory input fields so that intake staff can get adequate information about the incident, the alleged victim, the alleged perpetrator and any safety issues in order to screen reports effectively."
The site, https://prd.chfs.ky.gov/ReportAbuse/home.aspx, will be monitored from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Reports will not be reviewed during evenings, weekends or state holidays.
If situations arise during these times indicating a child or adult is at risk of immediate harm, these should be reported to 911, local law enforcement or 877-KY SAFE1. Calls are anonymous. If the report meets the criteria for abuse, an investigation is conducted within 24 hours in most cases or, if the child is suspected to be in immediate danger, they are conducted within the hour. Callers should try to know the child's name, approximate age, address, parents' names and location of the child when the call is made. They should also have names and phone numbers of other people who have information about the suspected abuse.
Law enforcement and judicial officials, medical professionals, educators, child and senior caregivers and other advocates have been using the program since July, giving feedback to DCBS staff to help refine the system for the general public. According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services press release, "Users of the portal are required to enter an email contact and will receive an immediate, automated response that their online report has been made. Centralized intake staff will review reports as they are submitted. Users will receive a response message within 48 hours only if their report has not been accepted because it doesn?t meet criteria for investigation. Reports that are accepted do not generate a follow-up email message. The reporting portal has several mandatory input fields so that intake staff can get adequate information about the incident, the alleged victim, the alleged perpetrator and any safety issues in order to screen reports effectively."
The site, https://prd.chfs.ky.gov/ReportAbuse/home.aspx, will be monitored from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Reports will not be reviewed during evenings, weekends or state holidays.
If situations arise during these times indicating a child or adult is at risk of immediate harm, these should be reported to 911, local law enforcement or 877-KY SAFE1. Calls are anonymous. If the report meets the criteria for abuse, an investigation is conducted within 24 hours in most cases or, if the child is suspected to be in immediate danger, they are conducted within the hour. Callers should try to know the child's name, approximate age, address, parents' names and location of the child when the call is made. They should also have names and phone numbers of other people who have information about the suspected abuse.
- Website Eases Application Process For Snap, Formerly Food Stamps, And Promotes Healthy Food
With a federal grant, the state Department for Community Based Services has launched a customer service website to promote healthy foods by assisting the families receiving food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,...
- More Child-welfare Indicators Added To Kids Count Data Site
Kentucky Youth Advocates has added four new child welfare indicators to the agency's Kids Count Data Center. These four new indicators provide Kentuckians and those who report on them with more information on vulnerable children and families in the...
- Six Of 41 Child-abuse Fatalities Show Improper Follow-up By Cabinet For Health And Family Services, Herald-leader Analysis Finds
The way child-abuse deaths are reviewed in Kentucky continues to be problematic. Looking at the 41 child fatalities in 2009 and 2010, Lexington Herald-Leader reporters Beth Musgrave and Bill Estep found at least six cases in which the Cabinet for...
- Health And Family Cabinet Continues To Withhold More Information In Copies Of Child Abuse Records Than Judge Allowed
The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services released three more death and near-death cases involving child abuse or neglect Friday under court order, but continued to withhold critical information. It has appealed the order. The 2009 cases...
- 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...