Head of state social services steps down amid controversy

In the wake of controversy about how her state agency handled child-abuse investigations, Kentucky's commissioner of social services has stepped down. No other details were confirmed about the resignation of Patricia Wilson, who was a career social-services employee. Her salary was $111,348.

"The cabinet has been buffeted by recent reports over its role in child abuse cases, most recently that of Amy Dye, a 9-year-old Western Kentucky girl fatally beaten by her brother in the adoptive home where the cabinet placed her at age 5," notes Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal.

Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to make records pertaining to the case public, saying the cabinet turned a "blind eye" torward the abuse. The cabinet had repeatedly argued in court that it was not obligated to release the records.

Last week, Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the release of the records, calling the details of Amy Dye's death "horrifying." The cabinet immediately sought to undercut the move. "Key lawmakers also have expressed growing dissatisfaction over how the cabinet handles cases of child abuse deaths and serious injuries," Yetter reports. (Read more)