Boyle residents invited to discuss improving foster care at town hall Friday

Boyle County residents are invited to a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Citizen Foster Care Review Boards to discuss ways to improve outcomes for Kentucky families and children in the foster care system.

The regional meeting that will include Boyle County is Friday, Aug. 16 from 11 a.m. to noon CT. Registration required at kcoj.info/Aug16CFCRB .

This meeting is for residents 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.

The town halls will focus on how children and families who have experienced out-of-home care can contribute to bettering the child welfare system. The discussions will be geared toward encouraging community partners and stakeholders to promote child and family well-being, equity and positive outcomes by engaging with families and children who have been in the system. Due to confidentiality, specific cases will not be discussed.

The town hall topic is an offshoot of a Kentucky Youth Advocates report – Building the Voices of Lived Experience: Lessons Learned from Navigating the System – Kentucky Youth Advocates – from last summer about what children and families learned while in the foster care system and what they wished they had known earlier. The report is part of a larger initiative to support communication for children and families and professionals in child welfare.

Discussion points at the town halls will include:

• What are the possible solutions to better develop the inclusion and validation of lived experts in system improvement?
• What supports exist so children and families involved with the child welfare system can have their voices and concerns heard?
• What impact can this engagement have for children currently in foster care?

Findings from the meetings will be reported to the Kentucky Citizen Foster Care Review Board and will be included in the CFCRB’s annual recommendations to the Supreme Court, governor and legislature. Regional meetings are among the reforms called for in House Bill 1, the adoption and foster care legislation passed in 2018 to improve outcomes for children in out-of-home care.

Registrants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom meeting link. For more information, email cfcrb@kycourts.net.

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