The Kentucky Supreme Court has ordered Kentucky child welfare officials to publicly release records of child abuse cases resulting in death or serious injury.
The court released the 3-3 vote Thursday on whether to halt a lower court decision ordering the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to open the cases. The tie vote let the lower court decision stand.
Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd has previously ruled that The Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader should have access to internal reviews of cases in which children died or were seriously injured from abuse or neglect.
The ruling means the cabinet must provide case files following a process laid out by Shepherd detailing the information that can be withheld by the cabinet. The cabinet must explain each deletion.
