Letters

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to shine the light on the foster care experience. Let's start with some figures:

- More than 6,800 Kentucky children and youth are in out-of-home

care, with 75 to 80 percent of those in foster care. Most are placed in temporary foster care due to parental neglect or abuse.

- The average age of a child in care: 10.7 years.

Childhood is supposed to be an age of innocence, but for too many in the Commonwealth it's a time of suffering. In 2009, a report revealed that Kentucky led the nation in the number of children who die as a result of abuse and neglect. Statistics show that every minute in Kentucky, two children are victims of abuse that can leave emotional and physical scars that last a lifetime.

As Circuit Clerk of Marion County, I have seen Marion County residents support the Kentucky Circuit Court Clerks' Organ Donor Awareness Program. April is National Donate Life Month, and it is a reminder that organ donation truly is the gift of life to a recipient in need. Every day 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant. The medical miracles that are modern transplants would not be possible without the gift of organ donation.

I'm Katy Smith and I'm doing a fourth grade state project. I was dying for Kentucky, and I got it! I can't wait to learn more about The Bluegrass State!