CHFS Community Podcast

November is National Adoption Month, and this week’s guest is Veronica Jordan Sears, Adoption Services Branch Manager with the Division of Protection and Permanency located within the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services (DCBS). She obtained her BSW from EKU in 2001. Like many others at CHFS, Veronica names Commissioner Marta Miranda-Straub as her favorite professor.

Veronica’s duties include oversight, policy, and working with regional staff; but says adoption is one of the best parts of her job. There are currently 3,141 children in out of home care in Kentucky. 635 children are free for adoption and do not have an identified adoptive home. Approximately 425 of these young people age 13 and older do not have an identified adoptive family through no fault of their own. This year’s National Adoption Month is focused on teens.

It may come as a surprise that one doesn’t have to be married or have the perfect family to adopt. The qualification process for those age 21 and older includes: training, sufficient income, a home study, overall good health and a background check. You can learn more about adoption at adopt.ky.gov.

After 30 years in the cabinet, I am very aware that working in foster care and adoption can be discouraging. This is why confidential support services are offered to CHFS employees through the Kentucky Employee Assistance Program (KEAP). When things get hard, remember the joy you feel when you help someone else. Let’s be kind to each other, especially as we approach the holidays. And never forget how grateful I am for frontline workers helping vulnerable children across the commonwealth.

Budget discussions are not known for being utterly fascinating, but I encourage you to listen to this week’s podcast with the Executive Director for the Office of Finance and Budget, Eric Lowery. His job is much more than providing review and oversite for the CHFS annual budget. That is the big picture. More importantly, he assists the Secretary’s Office in helping Kentucky communities strengthen individuals and families. Our conversation ranges from milkshakes at Tommy’s Root beer Stand in Barbourville, to how the pandemic has affected this year’s budget. I hope your takeaway is our deep appreciation for the work that you do as CHFS, as we strive to lift all Kentuckians, including our most vulnerable populations.

October is audiology month, and I recently had the opportunity to speak to Michelle Niehaus, Program Administrator with the Kentucky Division for Behavioral Health. Michelle is one of only nine state coordinators focused on mental health and substance use services for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing in the U.S.

Michelle’s passion for the deaf and hard of hearing began at age 12 when she encountered a group of people on a bus trip who were using sign language. Some members of the group taught basic signs to Michelle and she was hooked. From there, she used her signing skills to volunteer at an agency for people with developmental disabilities. This led to a degree from Indiana University, graduate school at Washington University, and a career driven by advocacy for the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Kentucky is a leader in supporting the deaf and hard of hearing, but there is always more we can do to address inequities in services for those in the commonwealth.  In this podcast, Michelle provides ideas about how CHFS can address disparities and improve health outcomes for the deaf and hard of hearing.

And finally, we discuss the silver lining of the COVID-19 epidemic including telehealth and the return of kynect to help provide Kentuckians the basic human right that is healthcare. Michelle would argue that communication is a basic human right, too. I hope you enjoy getting to know Michelle, and learning more about blessings and challenges faced by those with hearing loss in Kentucky. 

It’s not often that a person gets to return to a job they love with an even greater opportunity to make a difference. This is what happened in 2019 when Secretary Eric Friedlander accepted an invitation to lead the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as Deputy Secretary. A few months later, he was appointed to CHFS Secretary. Carrie Banahan, who has also returned to CHFS, is the new Deputy Secretary. They are pleased to be working together again.

Deputy Secretary Banahan started at CHFS in 1982. She has had over 27 years at the cabinet and eight years with the Department of Insurance. Their plan is to “pick up where we left off” by expanding services that support the health of Kentuckians. CHFS has relaunched a streamlined kynect with mobile friendly access, easier navigation, and expanded information, and CHFS employees will be happy to hear that applications for benefits will take 15-20 minutes compared to an hour or more.

On this episode, Deputy Secretary Banahan shares the secrets and shortcomings she experienced along the road to career success. She shares her commitment that all CHFS employees feel valued and appreciated. She talk with Secretary Friedlander about their passion for people and policy; and mutual commitment to do what it takes to improve the health and well-being of Kentuckians.