Kentucky’s child abuse and fatality panel is meeting today to continue its work reviewing 55 cases. It's the first time the panel will meet since becoming required under state law.
The panel was created by Gov. Steve Beshear last year following a lawsuit and media reports that challenged the transparency of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
The cabinet is involved with the cases and officials have said they support the panel’s work.
Retired judge Roger Crittenden is the group’s chairman. He says the work is more challenging than expected and says the 17-member team has split up the cases for review.
“It’s a very depressing read,m" Crittenden said. "You can only read these case files for a short period of time and have to step away from them because these involve series injuries or deaths of children and that’s just not easy to follow.”
The law says the group will develop an annual report and discuss any recommendations or concerns with lawmakers as needed.
The panel includes a mix of appointed members from doctors to government officials.
