Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has ordered a child welfare agency to release investigative records in cases of child abuse deaths.
Beshear announced the move in a Capitol news conference on Tuesday. He had been under pressure from child welfare advocates to take the action.
The governor, who won re-election to a second term earlier this month, said his order calls for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and
Family Services to release all records from its reviews of deaths and near deaths from abuse and neglect, absent certain information that would identify confidential tipsters.
Kentucky has long kept such records confidential. Beshear said Tuesday that he is mindful that many people believe the records
should remain confidential but that some recent deaths make clear that changes are needed.
