John Walsh, CEO of the Morton Center, an alcohol treatment center in Louisville,KY will retire next year. John co-founded the Morton Center in 1984. Over the years he became an indispensable resource to family law practitioners. If substance abuse was a concern for a child’s safety, we could always count on John to objectively assess...Read More

The Kentucky committee reviewing dependency, abuse, neglect and quick trigger adoptions met last week. If you read the Courier Journal report and the Lexington Herald-Leader story, they hardly seem to be covering the same meeting.Read More

It was welcome news that the state found funding for the Jefferson County family court drug court program. Yet, it is concerning that this program was not funded in the budget, and that a front page newspaper article was required to get it back in gear. The blogosphere is full of speculating on the “story...Read More

A Kentucky State Government press release sent after the first meeting of the committee studying “quick trigger” adoptions announces it will meet monthly and possibly recommend legislation in 2007. It is good news that the 12 member panel will personally be headed by The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Cabinet Secretary Mark D....Read More

Eleanor Garber, Jefferson Circuit Court, Family Division Judge is surprised and disappointed that Kentucky state funding has been eliminated for her cutting edge program designed to treat drug addicts so their children can be reunited with them, the Courier-Journal reports.Read More

Her Most Difficult Call- When is a Mother so troubled, or troubling that a welfare worker must take her kids from her? by Daniel Bergner, is the New York Times Magazine, July 23, 2006 cover story. It’s heartbreaking to read, but important for us to realize what a difficult job these dedicated professionals have. Double...Read More

Valerie Honeycutt Spears wrote a detailed summary in the Herald-Leader of this week’s legislative hearing in Frankfort on premature termination of parental rights.Read More

Case Law Development: Appointment of GAL for parent in dependency action requires notice and hearing, from the Family Law Prof Blog. In states where there is statutory authority for a GAL in dependency cases, including Kentucky, this case may be inapplicable. But see our prior post on Guardians Ad Litem where there is not statutory...Read More

Steven Kriegshaber, Louisville attorney, and a past president of the Kentucky Chapter of the AAML, serves on the national AAML Special Concerns of Children Committee, and helped author a publication, REPRESENTING CHILDREN: Standards for Attorneys & Guardian Ad Litems in Custody or Visitation Proceedings. Published several years ago, it advocates that GALs not make recommendations...Read More

The KentuckyLawBlog reports today that the state will hold hearings on children hastily removed from biological parents to facilitate “quick trigger” adoptions. The post links to a Lexington Herald-Leader story. The hearings in the legislature will begin June 21, 2006 at 1 p.m.Read More