Tagged: child abuse

The Kentucky Supreme Court has ordered Kentucky child welfare officials to publicly release records of child abuse cases resulting in death or serious injury.

The court released the 3-3 vote Thursday on whether to halt a lower court decision ordering the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to open the cases. The tie vote let the lower court decision stand.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is granting a Daviess County child and substance abuse program $2.5 million. The five-year grant is to support the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams project, better known as START.

Governor Steve Beshear signed a bill giving broader investigative powers to a state panel that reviews serious cases of child abuse and neglect in the Commonwealth.

Recent studies show a Kentucky program that works with needy parents improves the health and development of their children. Health Access Nurturing Development Services, or HANDS, started as a pilot program in 1998 as a way to combat child abuse. Now the program is in all 120 Kentucky counties and has served more than 60,000 families since 2000.

A Clarksville babysitter has been charged with abusing a 2-month-old boy. Police say Jessica Watkins turned herself in Saturday and is facing charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect. The infant was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center for multiple broken bones last month. Watkins called the boy’s mother and said he had a swollen leg. She told the police the infant’s leg popped when she took him out of the car while babysitting him. The police issued a warrant for Watkins and Montgomery County jail officials say she is being held on a $50,000 bond.