Child abuse panel calls for parent drug testing

FRANKFORT, Ky. Amid an epidemic of drug use in Kentucky, a state panel on child abuse is calling for parents to undergo drug tests if a child dies unexpectedly in their care.

The Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel released its annual report Monday with nine key recommendations to improve protective services for the roughly 19,000 children who fall victim to abuse and neglect each year in Kentucky.

Panel members reviewed 116 cases, involving 73 child fatalities and 43 near-deaths. Of those, 77 cases had a history with the state Department of Community Based Services.

Chiefly, the report recommends developing a standardized protocol for drug screening parents — and other caregivers — as part of an investigation into an unexpected child death.

It also calls on the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to develop a statewide public-awareness campaign to promote safe sleeping practices and educate new parents on the dangers of bed sharing.

Additionally, the report recommends programs to educate parents about abusive head trauma, link high-risk families with community services, coordinate investigations, make court proceedings more transparent and study the workload for social workers.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services said in a statement Monday that officials will review the report over the coming weeks and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of any proposals.

"While the cabinet values the panel's suggestions and welcomes its feedback, we have not yet had an opportunity to digest the panel's recommendations," it said.

But Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, warned that the cabinet has failed to follow up on problems before.

"Unless we put pressure on the cabinet and keep their feet to the fire, they may or may not do anything," he said.

According to the report, 29 percent of deaths or near-deaths resulted from physical abuse while 15 percent were related to medical neglect.

Around 10 percent — eight fatalities and seven near-deaths — involved a caregiver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time. But tests were not administered in 95 percent of the cases the panel examined this year.

Panel members concluded that substance use is likely a much stronger factor in child injuries. Cabinet data indicate that it plays a role in 55 percent of all incidents, the report said.

Panel members considered recommending drug tests last year but stopped short amid concerns that it would further upset grieving parents.

But Roger Crittenden, a retired Franklin Circuit judge who chairs the panel, said making drug tests a standard procedure could help law enforcement and child-welfare investigators.

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"That's a hard recommendation — hard meaning that one will have a lot of conflict," he said. "We think that we made it general enough that it could be adopted."

Burch said he supports the proposal, calling it a "good idea."

Meanwhile, bed sharing and unsafe sleeping conditions were counted as factors in nine fatalities and one near-fatality, and five of the deadly cases involved an impaired parent sleeping with an infant.

A state official testified this year that co-sleeping with parents, sleeping in areas outside a crib, use of soft bedding, and placing infants on their stomach or side were all considered risks.

Still, surveys from 2009 and 2010 revealed about 12.7 percent of new mothers report always co-sleeping with a child while 26 percent do it often or sometimes.

"We felt like that's an area in which by virtue of education and a lot more emphasis by the social workers, we might be able to accomplish something," Crittenden said.

All but one of the cases reviewed for the report occurred in fiscal year 2013 — a year when the cabinet substantiated that 22 fatalities and 46 near-fatalities resulted from abuse or neglect, according to an internal report.

Cabinet spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said part of the difference is due to investigations that were still pending during the cabinet's reporting period.

Gov. Steve Beshear created the Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel in 2012 following several high-profile deaths of children from abuse and neglect. The General Assembly later codified it in state law.

The group is made up of child welfare, medical, law enforcement and social work experts who look for systematic problems in Kentucky's child-protective services.

Monday's report marks the first time the panel has made recommendations since its creation.

Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeWynn_CJ.