It was distressing to read Deborah Yetter’s story last week (October 20, 2009, Courier-Journal, "Kentucky leads nation in rate of child abuse and neglect deaths, study finds") about Kentucky ranking highest in child deaths caused by abuse and neglect. Even more distressing was knowing that the data on which the story was based came from 2007, before major cuts in the child-protection budget were enacted. Unfortunately, more cuts loom – which hardly bodes well for the future.
The glimmer of hope in all this is that private providers such as Sunrise Children’s Services are working in partnership with the state Department for Community Based Services to move toward a more preventive service model.
Providing in-home services are not only more effective than fixing a broken home later, it also costs thousands of dollars less per family. In-home services can cost as little as one-fifth the cost of out-of-home care.
Many times a family in turmoil needs a relatively minor assist to stop the cycle of abuse or neglect – parenting classes, job-skills upgrades, or budgeting lessons. Other times more intensive services are required, such as substance-abuse treatment or other therapies. The point is to keep children in their homes when possible, with supervision and personalized treatment plans that enable families to function more safely and effectively.
Serving families retroactively, on the other hand, often means long legal processes, institutional care, and the prosecution and incarceration of offending adults, all of which costs a lot of money.
Sunrise has been keeping Kentucky’s children safe since 1869, when many families were torn apart by the Civil War, poverty or disease. Today our faith-based organization annually serves more than 2,000 children across the state through a full continuum of care, including residential treatment, crisis stabilization, therapeutic foster homes, adoption services and family counseling centers.
We stand ready to help Kentucky take a bold new approach to child abuse and neglect to ensure that we can move Kentucky away from national disgrace and into God’s grace.
Bill Smithwick
President & CEO
Sunrise Children’s Services
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