KY # 1 - in Fatal Child Abuse

Because they probably deserved it, right? And nobody can interfere with parents' rights to control their children, right? Cuz that's wut the beyebul sez!

And why should we pay higher taxes to protect a bunch of no-account kids who will never amount to anything anyway, right?

Kentucky had the highest rate of child deaths from abuse and neglect in the United States during 2007, according to a report released Wednesday by a national child advocacy group.

Every Child Matters Education Fund, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C., reported that 41 Kentucky children died from abuse and neglect in 2007 — a rate of 4.09 deaths per 100,000 Kentucky children.

To help stem the tide of deaths, the group called on state officials to make public specific information about each child's death, including whether he or she had previous contact with state social workers.

"If you want to stop children from dying, it would be in the best interest of Kentucky to open up the process," said Michael Petit, the group's president. "It's not a question of affixing blame; it's a question of learning."

SNIP

In addition to calling for changes in state law, the report challenges Congress to modify federal confidentiality laws. Such changes would allow policy-makers, the media and the public to understand better what policies need to be improved in the aftermath of a child's death, he said.

A photo of 10-year-old Michaela Watkins, the Clark County girl who received 77 injuries at the hands of her father and stepmother in 2007 before she died, represented Kentucky on the cover of the report, "We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in America."

Michaela had been monitored by social workers after she was removed from her mother's home and sent to live with her father and stepmother, Patrick and Joy Watkins. The two were found guilty of murdering Michaela, who had been scalded and beaten.

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The report shows that in 2004, the most recent data available, $89 was spent per capita in Kentucky on child welfare services, ranking it 16th among states.

Child advocates noted that the state's budget has faced repeated cuts since then.

"The most alarming aspect of this alarming report is the numbers come before the most recent series of budget cuts," said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, the state's leading child-advocacy group.

Brooks said Cabinet officials have dealt well with mandated budget cuts, but programs that help save lives and money continue to shrink.

"Belt-tightening may be good for Frankfort political careers," he said. "It is a bad idea for Kentucky's kids."

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