In yesterday's news blog I wrote about the many cases in the US where children and families are let down by the agencies set up to serve them. Comments on the post talked about making noise and doing something to change the present mess many conclude is the only accurate assessment possible.

With great timing, I found this opinion piece just published in a Kentucky paper and couldn't be happier to be able to pass on not only a bit of news of progress, but also a direction for those who would like to put some time and energy toward positive change in the world of foster care and children and families in general.

Written by the Chief Justice of Kentucky, the article announces the first Kentucky Summit on Children, the largest gathering of its kind in the state, taking place this week in Louisville and planned to, "bring together judges, attorneys, legislators, guardians ad litem, child welfare officials, court system personnel, and foster parents and children to shine a light on decision-making for children in the child welfare system and before our courts."

Apparently greatly moved while attending a meeting of chief justices and child welfare experts from all over the US in March of this year, Chief Justice Lambert took up a challenge issued by the Chief Judge of New York, Judith S. Kaye, who prompted attendees to, "identify initiatives to take back home and implement, to forge collaborations across systems and across states, to define measures of success and map out how to reach them."

"We seek justice for children in the broadest sense," she added, "not just by processing or adjudicating their cases, but by assisting them in solving their problems so that they leave our courthouses and our child welfare systems far better off than when they entered. We call this 'problem-solving justice' and justice, as you know, is a joint enterprise.

Supported by American Bar Association, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Center for School Safety, the Citizen Foster Care Review Boards, the Department of Education, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, the Kentucky Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, the Kentucky Bar Association and Kentucky Bar Foundation, Kentucky Child Now!, the Louisville Bar Association, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Operation UNITE, Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky, and the Kentucky Adoption Blue Ribbon Panel, the Summit on Children's goal is to, "shine a light on vulnerable, hurting children behind the cold statistics" and to, " identify the strengths and weaknesses of our current system and continue our endeavor to provide a bright and promising future to the children who need us most."

The Chief Justice has issued his own challenge to the people of Kentucky to get involved on behalf of the kids by joining in on regional meetings to be held throughout the state.

I'll expand that to those outside Kentucky by urging each of you to write to the Chief Justice of your state and demand that a Summit for Children happens where you live, too, and that you follow this up with more letters until it does, and when a method is put in place for public involvement, step up.

I do love it when there's some movement in a right direction. Now it needs to be followed until it become about more than meetings. That is where you and I come in, you know. We're can hold the feet of the powerful to the flame of reform if we're willing to keep wresting with them.

Big hat tip, by the way, to Chief Justice Lambert and Chief Judge Kaye. Keep up the good work!