SHAMEFUL!

23 Kentucky children died of abuse, neglect in past year, state says
Written by
Tom Loftus

FRANKFORT, KY. — Twenty-two children died in substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect in Kentucky in the past year, according to a report released Friday by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

That’s down from 31 fatalities from child abuse and neglect in 2010-11, the report shows.

However, the new report, posted Friday afternoon on the cabinet’s website, updates and increases the number of fatalities for the past year. Some legislators criticized the cabinet last year for under-reporting the number of fatalities.

This year’s report states that numbers in the reports for past years can change as cases are resolved and coroners complete death investigations.

The new report states that eight of the 22 fatalities in 2011-12 were cases where state social workers had past involvement with the families.

The report also says that in 2011-12 there were 33 cases of “near fatalities” resulting from child abuse and neglect in the state. That is down from 47 near fatalities in 2010-11, according to the report.

“It is very good news that the just-released child aabuse and neglect report shows a decline in children dying,” said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “We should all celebrate that trend line while at the same time remembering that the death of a single child is still too many for us to ever tolerate.”