Kentucky Court of Justice
Volunteers needed to assist children placed in foster care in Fayette County

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Fayette County Citizen Foster Care Review Boards are seeking volunteers to make a difference in the lives of local children in foster care. Volunteers are needed to review cases of children placed in foster care because of abuse, dependency and neglect to ensure these children are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.

Volunteers are not required to reside in the county where a board meets.

The Kentucky General Assembly created the Citizen Foster Care Review Board, or CFCRB, in 1982 as a way to decrease the time children spend in foster care. CFCRB volunteers review Cabinet for Health and Family Services files on children placed in out-of-home care and work with the cabinet and courts on behalf of the state’s foster children.

All volunteers must complete a six-hour initial training session and consent to a criminal record and central registry check. A recommendation is then made to the chief judge of the District Court or Family Court for appointment.

All Fayette County CFCRBs meet monthly in Lexington. The meeting schedules for the boards most in need of volunteers are as follows:

Fayette A, first Tuesday of the month, 4:30 p.m.
Fayette B, third Thursday of the month, 10 a.m.
Fayette C, third Tuesday of the month, 2:30 p.m.
Fayette I, second Thursday of the month, 5 p.m.

For more information, contact:

Shelli Rapier
Fayette County CFCRBs
800-928-2350 or shellirapier@kycourts.net

Individuals who would like to volunteer but are not available for the aforementioned meetings may contact Shelli Rapier to get meeting schedules for the other Fayette County CFCRBs.   

Approximately 800 volunteers across the state serve as members of the Kentucky Citizen Foster Care Review Board. The boards operate within the Division of Dependent Children’s Services of the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. The volunteer reviewers help ensure that children receive the necessary services while in foster care and are ultimately placed in permanent homes.

As the operations arm for the state court system, the AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks, and executes the Judicial Branch budget.