A judge has held the state’s child welfare agency in contempt for not providing enough staff and resources to manage caseloads, according to a published report.
Family Court Judge Mica Wood Pence’s order noted delays, late reports, missed deadlines and multiple postponed hearings due to staffing shortages and high turnover at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Barren County office, the Courier Journal reported.
The effect is some children stay in foster care instead of being returned on time to families, she told the newspaper. Barren County had only five social workers as of Feb. 1 when it should have 17, the order said.
“This has been an ongoing problem for us in Barren County for an extremely long period of time,” Pence said.
Family court cases are typically confidential, but Pence took the unusual step of making her order public and directed it be sent to state officials.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services “takes the issues identified very seriously,” agency spokeswoman Susan Dunlap said Thursday in a statement.
“We are currently investigating the situation and will take any necessary action,” Dunlap said. “We remain committed to hiring and retaining a well-trained, healthy and knowledgeable workforce.”
The contempt order comes as the state struggles to overhaul its social service system and hire more workers amid continuing high rates of child abuse and neglect. More than 600 employees left the agency last year out of a workforce of about 4,300, according to the newspaper.
Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration recently announced 10 percent pay raises for social service workers and Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander said the state also has streamlined the hiring process.
Beshear, a Democrat, has proposed hiring an additional 350 social service workers over the next two years along with a student loan forgiveness program for social workers.
Republicans, who control the House and Senate, have proposed hiring 100 workers each year over the next two years.
The Associated Press
