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View Full Version : Kentucky allowed Social Workers to seize children using blank forms that had been pre-signed




Swordsmyth
05-09-2019, 04:02 PM
Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services has come under scrutiny for allowing social workers to take children from homes using blank emergency custody orders pre-signed by judges. The agency reportedly scrapped the policy after numerous complaints, but critics say the practice was illegal from the get-go and "a gross miscarriage of justice."

An expose by WDRB-TV (https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/sunday-edition-kentucky-workers-accused-of-illegally-removing-children-from/article_5b42179c-474f-11e9-b44e-5b1688808fe4.html) revealed the practice in March, reporting that while state and local officials admitted the system wasn't ideal, it was commonplace protocol on weekends or when a judge had gone home for the day when social workers were concerned about abuse or neglect allegations.
Yet, affected families, attorneys, and even some judges have cried foul, saying the policy was against Kentucky law — likening it to police raiding a home with a blank search warrant. In fact, social workers are accused of just that: Taking kids with blank forms bearing photocopied signatures, filling out the documents later, and leaving parents in the dark until a hearing three days after the children are removed from a home.

When judges review a social worker's affidavit for removing a child, they are required to affirm several findings before approving the order; not just agree or disagree with whether it is warranted under the described scenario. The Cabinet has now reportedly done away with photocopied or stamped judges' signatures, and instead implemented a system where judges can review an order and sign it electronically.

What's notable about Kentucky's former policies is that the state is all-too-familiar with false claims. In recent years, a Kentucky social worker was convicted of making bogus allegations (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/17/rogue-social-worker-targeted-neighbors-with-fake-calls-to-child-protective-services/?utm_term=.bf6f7cad97d1) against multiple parents and was ultimately sentenced (https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/05/10/ex-social-worker-guilty-calling-false-child-abuse-reports-grayson-county/314065001/) to a year in jail for her false reporting.

More at: https://www.theblaze.com/news/kentucky-policy-allowed-social-workers-to-take-kids-using-judges-pre-signed-signatures-on-blank-documents

Grandmastersexsay
05-09-2019, 06:57 PM
All judges involved should be dismissed at the very least. Such gross negligence should result in jail time, but I'm dreaming if I think they will even be slapped on the wrist let alone dismissed.