Society of Professional Journalists Criticizes "Campaign of Obfuscation" by Kentucky Agency

The Society of Professional Journalists has given the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services the runner-up spot in the annual Black Hole Awards.The mocking award goes to agencies that lack transparency and are given out during the SPJ's "Sunshine Week." The state of Utah took the top prize this year, but the Cabinet for Health and Family Services was close behind. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services has embarked on a campaign of obfuscation aimed at preventing the public from learning the details about the death of a toddler under the cabinet’s supervision. [edit] The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has a blanket policy of refusing to disclose all information in child abuse and neglect cases. The cabinet's bias in favor of confidentiality seems to be driven more by the culture of the agency, "which seeks to avoid public scrutiny," than by the law, a judge said.