BY TOM LATEK

Kentucky Today

The public is invited to participate in virtual town hall meeting this week to talk about mental health challenges for Kentucky families and children, including those that result in children being placed in foster care, sponsored by regional Citizen Foster Care Review Boards.

Anyone with input on this topic is encouraged to attend one of the regional meetings June 6, 8, 20 or 22. Registration is required, and while they encourage people to register for the one covering their region, you can sign up for any of them. Due to confidentiality, specific cases will not be discussed.

Mental health and substance misuse are significant factors in families being referred to the foster care system for child abuse and neglect. And while mental health treatment rates are low for all young people with major depression, young people of color are much less likely to receive treatment for depression than those who are white. Among the questions for discussion at the town halls are:

• Are families and children struggling with unmet mental health needs for treatment or counseling in your community?

• What are the barriers to accessing mental health care?

• What solutions are available to remove barriers to access and treatment?

• What specific solutions could improve treatment and access for children of color?

The virtual town hall is scheduled for noon-1 p.m. Thursday. Anyone interested in attending can register at bit.ly/June82023.

Findings will be reported to the state Citizen Foster Care Review Board and included in its annual recommendations to the Kentucky Supreme Court, the governor and legislature. The meetings are among the reforms called for in legislation passed in 2018 to address issues with foster care and adoption processes. It requires CFCRBs to offer regional meetings at least twice a year to get public input on the foster care system.