Governor Fletcher Announces Project Targeting Racial Disparity

The State of Kentucky, Jul 02, 2007

Governor Ernie Fletcher and leaders from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) announced a comprehensive project to target racial disproportionality in the child welfare system. The child welfare system includes the community, its people and systems that report abuse and neglect to child protective services and those that respond and provide services.

The project targets 11 counties where African-American children are represented in state foster care at more than one and a half times the census rate.

“We are concerned about the high representation of African-Americans in out-of-home care,” Governor Fletcher said. “By studying this inequity and mapping a course to address it, we can ensure that more families are able to improve their home lives and ultimately stay together.”

The Community, Race and Child Welfare Initiative is the result of a two-year effort conducted by the Jefferson Service Region and the Cabinet’s Office of Quality Management.

“The significant number of minority children in the child welfare system is a national concern,” CHFS Secretary Mark D. Birdwhistell said. “Although this is a complex issue, we are already taking many positive steps to educate staff and community partners to dispel the problem.”

For more of this article please visit www.kentucky.gov.