Kentucky lawmakers were presented with new data on child fatality or near fatality incidents at a recent meeting. Officials with the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review panel said there are many key issues facing the Commonwealth’s children.
Ben Harrison is Chair of the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel. He said child suicide rates have been fluctuating over the last five years, but educational issues like bullying, discipline, and truancy were constant.
“Truancy is by far the biggest issue that we’re seeing. It occurs at more than two to three times the rate of the other issues. When examining suicide cases, 85 percent of those children had an educational issue,” said Harrison.
Overall, the panel reviewed 219 cases in their 2024 report, including 70 fatalities and 149 near fatalities. Harrison said recent findings show drug ingestion is one of the leading threats to Kentucky’s youth.
“The number of kids dying from overdose and ingestions has tripled more than in the last five years. So, it’s important to know what types of substances are being ingested to cause these fatalities. More than half of all the cases reviewed by the panel involve an opiate exposure. Even more alarming, 93 percent of the opiate ingestions indicated the presence of fentanyl,” said Harrison.
Drug ingestion issues were the most common among young children, with 75 percent of cases since 2014 being in children age four or younger. The panel, made up of expert volunteers from across the Commonwealth, is required to meet quarterly. Due to an increased number of cases, the Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel met monthly throughout 2024.