Kentucky Court of Justice
Volunteers needed to assist children placed in foster care in Bath, Boyd, Clay, Jackson, Lee, Menifee, Owsley and Pike counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Citizen Foster Care Review Boards for Bath, Boyd, Clay, Jackson, Lee, Menifee, Owsley and Pike counties 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. The volunteer reviewers help ensure that children receive the necessary services while in foster care and are ultimately placed in permanent homes.

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.

Bath/Menifee County CFCRB
The meeting schedule for the Bath/Menifee County CFCRB is to be determined.

Boyd County CFCRBs
The Boyd County CFCRBs meet monthly. Boyd A meets at 9 a.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month. Boyd B meets at 1 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month.

Clay County CFCRB
The Clay County CFCRB meets at 1 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Clay County Department for Community Based Services.

Jackson County CFCRB
The Jackson County CFCRB meets quarterly. Meetings take place on the second Friday of the meeting month. The next meeting will take place Dec. 9, 2011. 

Lee/Owsley County CFCRB
The Lee/Owsley County CFCRB meets bimonthly (every other month). Meetings take place at 10 a.m. on the first Thursday of the meeting month. The Lee/Owsley board meets at the Lee County Department for Community Based Services.

Pike County CFCRB
The Pike County CFCRB meets at 9 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the Pike County Department for Community Based Services.

For more information, contact:

Shawna Wathen
Family Services Supervisor, CFCRB
Administrative Office of the Courts
606-287-6029 or shawnawathen@kycourts.net 

Individuals who would like to volunteer but are not available for the aforementioned meetings may contact Shawna Wathen to get meeting schedules for other 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. 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.