Kentucky Citizen Foster Care Review Boards

Thousands of children in Kentucky are in foster care or other out-of-home (relative’s home, state facility, etc.) care after having been removed from their homes due to dependency, neglect or abuse.

Citizen Foster Care Review Boards have an important role in helping and protecting these children by reviewing their cases and making recommendations to courts about their care. Citizen Foster Care Review Boards are made up of court-appointed volunteers who help ensure these children get the services they need while in care and are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.

State law requires CFCRBs to regularly review the case of every child in foster care in Kentucky. In Fiscal Year 2018, volunteers conducted more than 25,000 case reviews of more than 12,000 children in foster and other out-of-home care.

The volunteers receive the cases from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which oversees the state’s foster care program. The boards report to the courts about any services they recommend that CHFS provide for the child, such as counseling or tutoring. The board may also recommend action by the court in the child’s case, such as reuniting the child with his/her parent after problems have been addressed, placing the child in the care of another relative or foster parent, or focusing on adoption for the child. Board findings and recommendations help Kentucky judges make informed decisions about permanent placements for these children.

Most boards meet once a month and the length of meetings vary by board. Each board is headed by a chair.

View the CFCRB Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2017.