Transparency Is Needed In Child Death, Injury Cases.
Transparency is needed in child death, injury cases
State officials couldn’t be more wrong or unfair in restricting the information they must release about children who are killed or severely injured because of abuse or neglect where state social service workers have been involved.
The regulations come after an adverse court decision in which Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd forced the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release voluminous records in the case of a Wayne County toddler who died after drinking drain cleaner at an alleged methamphetamine lab where his teenage parents lived.
Both Kayden Branham, 20 months, and his mother, Alisha Branham, then 14, had previously been under supervision of cabinet social workers, who placed mother and baby in foster care.
The new rules were quietly filed Jan. 3 as “emergency regulations” by the cabinet and they took effect immediately, unlike routine regulations that require legislative review.
Filing them quietly and restricting information to the public certainly gives the impression that the cabinet doesn’t want people to know what is going on.
The Lexington Herald-Leader and the Courier-Journal have both sued to gain access to the records, and rightfully so.
Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer for the Courier-Journal and the Kentucky Press Association, was right on target when he called the new regulations “totally outrageous.” Filing them as “emergency” rules, he said, is a blatant attempt to void Shepherd’s ruling that Kentucky requires the cabinet to release information in such cases.
Cabinet spokeswoman Vikki Franklin said the regulation enhances the transparency of the cabinet’s actions.
If the cabinet, which is operated in large part by taxpayers funds, truly wants to be open, why is it taking this action?
Franklin is merely providing a smokescreen that doesn’t hold water. Does Franklin really believe restricting this information provides more transparency?
It has the appearance of protecting the Cabinet from potentially embarrassing revelations.
Cabinet officials say they are drafting a proposed bill they hope to present soon to lawmakers. The panel would review child deaths and near deaths from abuse or neglect to determine whether they could have been prevented and to make recommendations to agencies involved in child welfare.
We hope lawmakers see past the cabinet trying to cover its tail and instruct the cabinet to follow state law that says information may be publicly disclosed in cases like this.
State officials couldn’t be more wrong or unfair in restricting the information they must release about children who are killed or severely injured because of abuse or neglect where state social service workers have been involved.
The regulations come after an adverse court decision in which Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd forced the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release voluminous records in the case of a Wayne County toddler who died after drinking drain cleaner at an alleged methamphetamine lab where his teenage parents lived.
Both Kayden Branham, 20 months, and his mother, Alisha Branham, then 14, had previously been under supervision of cabinet social workers, who placed mother and baby in foster care.
The new rules were quietly filed Jan. 3 as “emergency regulations” by the cabinet and they took effect immediately, unlike routine regulations that require legislative review.
Filing them quietly and restricting information to the public certainly gives the impression that the cabinet doesn’t want people to know what is going on.
The Lexington Herald-Leader and the Courier-Journal have both sued to gain access to the records, and rightfully so.
Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer for the Courier-Journal and the Kentucky Press Association, was right on target when he called the new regulations “totally outrageous.” Filing them as “emergency” rules, he said, is a blatant attempt to void Shepherd’s ruling that Kentucky requires the cabinet to release information in such cases.
Cabinet spokeswoman Vikki Franklin said the regulation enhances the transparency of the cabinet’s actions.
If the cabinet, which is operated in large part by taxpayers funds, truly wants to be open, why is it taking this action?
Franklin is merely providing a smokescreen that doesn’t hold water. Does Franklin really believe restricting this information provides more transparency?
It has the appearance of protecting the Cabinet from potentially embarrassing revelations.
Cabinet officials say they are drafting a proposed bill they hope to present soon to lawmakers. The panel would review child deaths and near deaths from abuse or neglect to determine whether they could have been prevented and to make recommendations to agencies involved in child welfare.
We hope lawmakers see past the cabinet trying to cover its tail and instruct the cabinet to follow state law that says information may be publicly disclosed in cases like this.
Labels: Keeping them honest
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 9:01 AM
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