Kentucky

Personal Soap Box: Insight Communications, Inc & the ?bundling? trap

Posted on January 17, 2009
First of all, Insight is engaging in poor business practices in that they effectively punish people who become loyal customers. The second lesson then is that our reluctance to change is our enemy. The third lesson is that when a company gets large enough, they no longer have to reckon with the individual customer...

Best Practice in Dependency, Abuse & Neglect Matters

Posted on January 02, 2009
I am writing this to correct any idea that I inadvertently promoted that being adversarial with the Cabinet is the way to win your case (I mean adversarial in the sense of ones attitude rather than in the sense that the court process is an adversarial process)...

Stall Tactic - Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

Posted on September 03, 2008
Kentucky sets forth the grounds for a court involuntarily terminating parental rights in KRS 625.090. The statute basically gives the essential elements, all of which much be proved by the heightened standard of “clear and convincing” evidence: the child has been abused or neglected (and there are three wasy to show this) and that [...

Array

Posted on August 30, 2008
Array

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Accountability by the courts

Posted on August 10, 2008
A decsion rendered by the Kentucky Court of Appeals on May 16, 2008 reveals that the appellate courts are prepared to hold the Cabinet for Health and Family Services accountable in termination of parental rights cases. There are very few published opinions in Kentucky reversing involuntary terminations initiated by the Cabinet...

Crisis brewing

Posted on July 23, 2008
The Fayette County office of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Protection and Permanency, is already in crisis mode and headings towards disaster. According to one source, there are only a dozen investigating workers and, due to budget constraints, none are being hired...

Cabinet practice has huge unintended (or is it?) consequence

Posted on May 15, 2008
A routine practice by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in Fayette County seems innocuous to the untrained eye, but it has a huge unintended consequence for certain parents. I wonder if this consequence is actually unintended, but absent confirmation, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt...

The Irony of No Child Left Behind (and Untested)

Posted on May 03, 2008
The Herald Leader ran this story about one ex-Principal, Peggy Petilli, allegedly (and believably) being driven to do questionable to downright crappy things to bring up her school’s test scores. The schools my own children go to focus so much on testing really high and the teaching is incredibly focused on “teaching to the [...

You can fight City (or State) Hall, Ms Hall:

Posted on May 03, 2008
I?ve been wanting to comment on the antics of Cabinet for Health and Family Services? Service Region Coordinator, Grace Akers, for some time. You can find out more about the events here and here from the Herald-Leader. Basically, Jami Hall, a social services worker from Jessamine Count cooperated with an investigation into Cabinet wrongdoing...

New Christian Legal Society forming:

Posted on March 23, 2008
A chapter of the Christian Legal Society is forming in the Bluegrass area of Kentucky. For more information about this forming CLS chapter, contact Gregory A. Napier in Lexington, Kentucky. Integrating one’s walk of faith with their practice of law, so that they are one and the same, will make the pursuit of [...

?Reasonable efforts? has real meaning

Posted on March 23, 2008
A recent decision of the Court of Appeals illustrates a an omission of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that seems all too common. In the unpublished opinion, M.G.F. II v. CHFS, 2006-CA-002093-ME (March 21, 2008)(NOT to be published), the Court remanded an involuntary termination of parental rights case because the Cabinet failed [...

Off Topic: The silver lining of pharmaceuticals in water

Posted on March 10, 2008
George W. Bush goal of cutting $15 billion from Medicaid expenditures may be easier than he imaginied. Apparently medications are increasingly being found in our drinking water . These are apparently chemicals that pass unused through the humans taking the medications...

Improving Child Protection in Kentucky (Moment of Silence) postscript:

Posted on March 09, 2008
I followed up regarding my concerns, posted here, about Representative Stan Lee’s sweeping and innaccurate portrayal of ALL the family court judges in Fayette County being against ALL of HB 151. I have confirmed from a very knowledgeable and reliable source that ALL of the Fayette family court judges were, in actuality, in [...

Improving Child Protection in Kentucky Postscript (or - a moment of silence, please)

Posted on March 06, 2008
The title of this article from today’s Herald Leader was a bit too prophetic to be accidental: “Child protection revisions all but dead“. The impetus for this bill began back with the Office of Inspector General’s report many long months ago...

Systemic apathy and the attorney?s charge

Posted on February 22, 2008
Apathy is the predominate risk with judicial venues where the majority of defendants are guilty of what is alleged against them, such as criminal court or dependency, neglect and abuse court. This systemic apathy leads to the few truly innocent people who come through those courts to be shuffled along as expeditiously as possible [...

The Cabinet takes a stand for the ?best interest of the child (umm - no) . . . Cabinet/Worker?

Posted on February 17, 2008
I try to take at least 24 hours to calm down over a topic before I write a post about it. This time I took about 96 hours. I recently had a conversation with Cabinet worker’s in Fayette County. The topic was reunification services to a parent whose child was removed by [...

An example of resistance to change:

Posted on February 17, 2008
I encourage everyone to read this full article on an interview with Professor Robert G. Lawson in the Courier Journal. Bob Lawson is that rare individual who is willing to go against the popular tide and critical examine a position most take for granted and it was an honor to be taught by him...

The enemy, resistance

Posted on February 17, 2008
Its an obvious truth that people resist change. Systems resist change too. Resistance for the sake to resisting change is the enemy to individuals and to systems. We shut out possibilities and shut down creativity by resisting new perspectives and ideas...

John Adams said it better

Posted on February 10, 2008
Thanks to the US Post Office, I found the following quote that said my point in my prior post far more concisely: “Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.” John Adams, 1765.

Words to give pause

Posted on February 07, 2008
Blogger’s like to have readers - otherwise they would just keep a journal and hide it under their mattress. So, when someone says “I read your blog”, there is usually a certain gratification. However, when that person is a judge who tells you this in the midst of a pre-trial in a case [...

Creativity Justice nexus

Posted on January 27, 2008
I was recently complimented by two opposing counsel because they each like working with me. I had to pause and consider the deeper ramifications of being complimented by opposing counsel: did it mean I was a pushover? Since, in both cases, I kept moving forward for favorable outcomes and stayed on top of [...

Child support in Dependency, Neglect and Abuse actions

Posted on January 10, 2008
If you would like a smattering of “let’s help poor people” optimism in the midst of boring child support and policy talk involving dependency, neglect and abuse actions, check out this post at the Lexington Lawyer blog.

Arbitration by trusted independent agencies?!

Posted on January 01, 2008
Here is a post by Bluegrass Business Law blog discussing enforceability of arbitration agreements. What the blogger fails to point out is that in the case discussed, Paul Miller Ford’s arbitration agreement calls for the Better Business Bureau to handle the arbitration...

More with less

Posted on December 29, 2007
Kentuckians, do not fret about yesterday’s news about a budget shortfall. State workers have gotten so good at doing more with less that they surely can do everything with nothing. Because of this miraculous ability to cut costs year after year, even in the face of the risings costs of resources, Kentuckians need [...

Governor Beshear - pick me!

Posted on December 20, 2007
The ingrained culture and complex blend of regulations and underfunding mean Governor Beshear needs to pick just the right person to fix the problems described in the Hereald-Leader article titled “Central Ky. has worst record” . At the risk of appearing immodest, I am that person...

Long time

Posted on October 27, 2007
Wow, it has been two months since I posted anything!!! I hope to be back soon, but things have been a bit busy and blogging is down below spending time with my children on the old priority list. There are events I hope to write about, but since they involve current court cases [...

Child Protection in Kentucky part 7

Posted on August 23, 2007
Is this Heral Leader article about child protection workers just pointing out a few bad apples or is this just one clust of problems that permeate the culture of the Cabinet? Consider this prior post of mine and a few others entitled Child Protection in Kentucky part 1 through 6...

A chance to practice

Posted on August 23, 2007
This article from today’s Herald Leader on The W loosening strip-mining regulations provides a perfect opportunity to show your patriotism and practice denial. Just try repeating this mantra: “Stip mining is good. More stip mining is better...

Dubya Deserves Denial

Posted on August 22, 2007
Ordinarily I would jump right in and take the opportunity to criticize The W, but when I read this article in today’s Lexington Herald Leader entitled “How they keep Bush from seeing protests” I had to come to The W’s defense. Lawsuits about first amendment free speech rights aside, this is really just a [...

Hope to be back at the press soon

Posted on August 15, 2007
Just wanted to let you all know that I have been exceptionally busy recently and hope to be back soon.

News stories regarding child protection:

Posted on July 29, 2007
I encourage you to read these stories from today’s Herald Leader: Toiling for hope, family Often, there’s no easy answer They echo many of the things I have said social workers for the Cabinet struggle with in prior posts and give many of those workers some oft deserved positive press...