About KECSAC

The Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children (KECSAC) is committed to the belief that all children can learn and have a right to quality education. KECSAC protects and assures this right by accessing resources and providing support to programs that educate State Agency Children.

Those children who do not receive an education of quality cannot realize their greatest potential. We believe these goals are achieved through the process of interagency collaboration. To accomplish the mission, all members of this statewide partnership must exemplify and publicly promote collaborative relationships with its partners and other associates.

Partners
SACSAA
IAG
History

Partners

KECSAC works closely with these and other agencies throught the Commonwealth in order to best meet the needs of our most vulnerable population of students.

SACSAA

The State Agency Children School Administrator Association (SACSAA) is a statewide collaboration between school administrators from each state agency program.  SACSAA membership meets twice per year to vote for officials and awards, network and share resources, and obtain the latest news on initiatives affecting their students.

Current SACSAA office holders include:

  • Sonny McManus, President
    Graves County Schools
    School Administrator
    3179 State Route 45 South
    Mayfield, KY  42066
    earl.mcmanus@graves.kyschools.us
    Phone: (270) 247-3237
    Fax: (270) 247-2605
     
  • Melissa Rogers, President-Elect
    Franklin County Schools
    School Administrator
    400 Democrat Drive
    Frankfort, KY  40601
    melissa.rogers@franklin.kyschools.us
    Phone: (502) 695-6720
    Fax: (502) 8695-9618
     
  • Garet Wells, Immediate Past President
    Woodford County Schools
    School Administrator
    330 Pisgah Pike
    Versailles, KY 40383
    garet.wells@woodford.kyschools.us
    Phone: (859) 873-4701 Ext. 227
    Fax: (859) 873-1614

IAG

The Interagency Advisory Group (IAG) is composed of members from each of KECSAC's partner agencies as well as SACSAA and Local Education Agencies.  The IAG meets quarterly to advise KECSAC, approve policies and procedures, and work collaboratively toward common goals.

Current members include:

  • Sherri Clusky
    Kentucky Department of Education
    Program Consultant
    500 Mero Street
    Frankfort, KY 40601
    sherri.clusky@education.ky.gov
    Phone: (502) 564-2106 Ext. 4517
    Fax: (502) 564-6470
     
  • Kara Fresh
    Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
    Impact Plus Coodinator
    100 Fair Oaks Lane 4E-D
    Frankfort, KY 40621
    kara.fresh@ky.gov
    Phone: (502) 564-4797 Ext. 4408
    Fax: (502) 564-4826
     
  • Janice Johnston
    Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
    Program Administrator
    100 Fair Oaks Lane 4E-D
    Frankfort, KY 40621
    janice.johnston@ky.gov
    Phone: (502) 564-5827 Ext. 4453
    Fax: (502) 564-9010
     
  • Sylvia L. Kuster
    Department of Juvenile Justice
    Education Branch Manager
    1025 Capital Center Drive
    Frankfort, KY 40601
    sylvial.kuster@ky.gov
    Phone: (502) 573-2738
    Fax: (502) 573-0307
     
  • Sonny McManus
    Graves County Schools
    School Administrator
    3179 State Route 45 South
    Mayfield, KY  42066
    earl.mcmanus@graves.kyschools.us
    Phone: (270) 247-3237
    Fax: (270) 247-2605
     
  • Melissa Rogers
    Franklin County Schools
    School Administrator
    400 Democrat Drive
    Frankfort, KY  40601
    melissa.rogers@franklin.kyschools.us
    Phone: (502) 695-6720
    Fax: (502) 8695-9618
     
  • Paula Saenz
    Department for Community Based Services
    State Independent Living Coordinator
    275 E. Main Street
    Frankfort, KY 40621
    paula.saenz@ky.gov
    Phone: (502) 564-2147 
     
  • Richard K. Thomas, Ed.D
    Department of Juvenile Justice
    Contract Day Treatment Auditor
    643 Westport Road
    Elizabethtown, KY 42701
    richardk.thomas@ky.gov
    Phone: (270) 766-5053
    Fax: (270) 766-5052
     
  • Denise Weider
    Department for Community Based Services
    Internal Policy Analyst
    275 E. Main Street 3E-D
    Frankfort, KY 40621
    denise.weider@ky.gov
    Phone: (502) 564-2147 Ext. 3670
    Fax: (502) 564-5995
     
  • Lu Young
    Jessamine County Schools
    Superintendent
    871 Wilmore Road
    Nicholasville, KY 40356
    lu.young@jessamine.kyschools.us
    Phone: (859) 885-4179
    Fax: (859) 887-4811

History

In 1990, the Kentucky General Assembly enacted the landmark Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), passed in response to a Kentucky Supreme Court decision declaring the state's entire system of public schools unconstitutional (Rose c. Council for Better Education, 790 S.W.2d 196 {Ky. 1989}).

That decision was the culmination of a 1985 lawsuit filed by 66 of Kentucky's 176 local school districts against the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of Education, the State Treasurer, and the Kentucky General Assembly for failing to provide an efficient system of common schools.

The Supreme Court relied upon Section 183 of the Kentucky Constitution which states: "The General Assembly shall, by appropriate legislation, provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state" (Ky. Const. 183) in holding Kentucky's school system to be inadequate.

KERA called for sweeping changes in the funding and delivery of elementary and secondary education in the Commonwealth. However, it did not specifically address the needs of state agency children. In response to this deficiency, the Kentucky General Assembly passed Senate Bill 260 (SB260) in 1992, which called for the establishment of the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children (KECSAC) (KRS 158.135). Kentucky House Bill 826 (HB826), passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in March 1994, broadened the eligibility for state agency children beyond those located in state operated and contracted day treatment, group homes, and residential placements. Under HB 826, the definition of state agency children was expanded to include youth placed or financed through the Cabinet for Families and Children in other residential treatment programs. In 1996, the General Assembly enacted House Bill 117 which established public juvenile offenders to the new agency. In 1998, the statute was again revised with the passage of House Bill 447 and House Bill 689 which expanded the definition of state agency children to include youth in therapeutic foster care placements and those confined in state operated juvenile detention facilities.

“State Agency Children” are those children who are committed to or in the custody of the Commonwealth and are being served in community-based and residential treatment programs funded and/or operated by one of Kentucky’s three state agency programs that provides direct care to children: the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID). State agency children programs are designed to meet the often intense needs of this underserved youth population.

Providing the educational services for these youth is currently the responsibility of Local Education Agencies (LEA) with support from the Kentucky Department of Education and the Department of Juvenile Justice. KECSAC works with local education agencies and programs to ensure the education provided meets the varying needs of state agency children. This education may include academic, pre-vocational, vocational, special education, social skills, and post-secondary offerings, which are in compliance with state and federal education laws and regulations.

The management and operation of this statewide collaborative is the responsibility of Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Education. KECSAC’s legislative mission currently includes the annual distribution of 10.4 million dollars to local school districts and the provision of teacher training, data collection and facilitating interagency and program collaboration among all programs that service state agency children in the state. There are very few states that have such an innovative, collaborative model for serving state agency children.

KECSAC is a true partnership that links the schools, family and children’s services, community mental health, juvenile justice, private providers, and institutions of higher learning. There is an interagency advisory council comprised of representatives from these partner groups that provides support and consultation to KECSAC.