At the second gubernatorial debate in October 2023 , Governor Andy Beshear acknowledged the plight of kinship. Later he said, “We must do everything we can to ensure their needs are met.”
Kinship care is when a child is living with relatives or close family friends other than their parents. These children may be victims of abuse and neglect and/or formally in the child welfare system; while many for a myriad of reasons are informally left with relatives or friends.
Kinship care placement process needs improvements
There are things we do well in Kentucky around kinship care and there are things that need improvement. For the past five years, we’ve needed improvement regarding the initial placement process. This is when a caregiver is given paperwork from the Department for Community Based Services which captures specific custody details around placement with them.
When placement is offered, it’s an emotional time for a caregiver. They are in shock as they hear details about the circumstances of the child’s removal from their home such as abuse, neglect and sometimes even dealing with the child’s required hospitalization.