Citizen Foster Care Review Boards in 22 Kentucky counties are searching for volunteers.
Board members review the cases of children who have been put in foster care because of dependency, abuse, or neglect. Volunteers complete a six-hour training session and must consent to a to criminal record and Central Registry check.
More information and application materials can be found here.
Dolores Smith is a unit supervisor with the review board program. She says the boards are looking for volunteers from many different backgrounds.
“The number one thing we look for is someone who has a genuine concern for child welfare—that’s the overriding feature,” Smith said. “Kentucky statutes also mention that we look for different professions, like education, social work, psychology, medical, and legal fields.”
Smith says Citizen Foster Care Review Boards in Kentucky conducted over 20,500 reviews in FY 15. More than 11,000 Kentucky children were in foster care at some point during that time period.
The 22 counties looking for review board volunteers are: Barren, Bell, Bourbon, Bracken, Butler, Clark, Edmonson, Fayette, Grayson, Jefferson, Jessamine, Logan, Madison, Mason, Muhlenberg, Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Taylor, Todd, Trimble and Warren.