Regional public hearings set for community input on foster care

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – The public is invited to virtual town hall meetings June 9-18 to discuss improving outcomes for Kentucky children and families involved in the state foster care system.

Anyone with an interest in making the foster care system better is encouraged to attend one of the regional meetings. Registration is required.

Local Citizen Foster Care Review Boards statewide are hosting the events.

The meetings are among the reforms called for in House Bill 1, which was passed in 2018 to address issues with foster care and adoption. The legislation requires CFCRBs to offer regional meeting at least twice a year to get public input on the foster care system.

At the June meetings, CFCRBs will lead discussions on how to strengthen Kentucky families with children who are in or may soon enter the foster care system.

Topics include services to keep families together and reunite families who have children in foster care. The meetings will also address assistance for young people who have reached the age of transitioning out of foster care. Due to confidentiality, specific cases will not be discussed.

Findings from the meetings will be reported to the Kentucky Citizen Foster Care Review Board and included in the CFCRB’s annual recommendations to the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the governor and legislature.

For more information, contact the CFCRB at cfcrb@kycourts.net.

Town Hall Schedule

JUNE 9, 2021

10:30 a.m.-noon CT/11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

Registration required. Click here to register. You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom meeting link.

For citizens residing in these counties: Allen, Ballard, Barren, Breckinridge, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Edmonson, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, LaRue, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Meade, Metcalfe, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Union, Warren and Webster 

JUNE 11, 2021

10:30 a.m.-noon CT/11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

Registration required. Click here to register. You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom meeting link.

For citizens residing in these counties: Adair, Bath, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Casey, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Floyd, Green, Greenup, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Marion, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Russell, Taylor, Washington, Wayne, Whitley and Wolfe 

JUNE 16, 2021

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

Registration required. Click here to register. You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom meeting link.

For citizens residing in these counties: Bullitt, Fayette and Jefferson

JUNE 18, 2021

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET

Registration required. Click here to register. You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom meeting link.

For citizens residing in these counties: Anderson, Boone, Bourbon, Boyle, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Clark, Estill, Fleming, Franklin, Gallatin, Garrard, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Jessamine, Kenton, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, Mason, Mercer, Nicholas, Oldham, Owen, Owsley, Pendleton, Robertson, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble and Woodford

Citizen Foster Care Review Boards
CFCRBs are teams of court-appointed volunteers who make a difference in the lives of local children who are in foster care in Kentucky. The children are in care due to dependency, neglect or abuse. The 700-plus volunteers review cases and make recommendations to state courts and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services on behalf of the children. The volunteers work to ensure that children’s needs are met while in care and that they are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible. The CHFS administers the state foster care program.

The Kentucky General Assembly created the Kentucky CFCRB in 1982 to decrease the time children spend in out-of-home care. In Fiscal Year 2020, volunteers reviewed 23,641 cases involving 13,838 children in out-of-home care. View the latest CFCRB Annual Report.

CFCRBs need volunteers. Get more information and apply here.