Frustrated by children who need care languishing in detention, a Jefferson County judge has found the state social services agency and two employees in contempt of court for failing to move them to foster or residential care.

And Judge David Holton II, who oversees juvenile court, stated in his order filed Friday that if the problems continue, contempt sanctions would include Vickie Yates Brown Glisson, the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and her top deputy, Tim Feeley, a former family court judge.

Children who are ready to be moved to a setting for treatment instead are remaining locked up for days at the Louisville Metro Youth Detention Center because social services officials say they have nowhere to put the children and not enough staff to manage the cases, his order said.

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Such cases generally involve children who may have committed juvenile offenses whose charges have been resolved but are in the custody of the cabinet and are ready to be moved to foster care or other facilities.

A cabinet spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The order suspends sanctions against the cabinet and two employees, social services supervisors Bill Coghill and Desiree Rhodes, for 12 months. And the order may be largely symbolic because Holton, who is retiring, issued it on his last day on the job, and it would be up his successor to enforce it.

Holton, in his order, said his findings come after hearing from cabinet workers that the agency is in an ongoing state of crisis, hopelessly overworked, understaffed and underfunded.

"It is impossible to imagine that the cabinet's secretary and deputy secretary are not aware of the staffing and budgetary crises described by witnesses, or the various adverse consequences of those crises," the order said.

The order comes as advocates describe a growing crisis at the cabinet, with a record number of more than 8,500 children in its care removed from homes because of abuse or neglect — the growth fueled by the state's heroin epidemic.

"This is no surprise," said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, who said conditions in the state social services agency have reached a "boiling point."

He said it's an important finding as the agency labors under huge caseloads, shrinking funds and chronic under-staffing of social workers.

"If it takes the judicial branch to get the executive branch to do right by kids, then good for Judge Holton," he said.

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Holton's order cites testimony of Coghill, a 29-year cabinet employee, to illustrate how serious conditions have become.

"Our agency is a mess," Coghill said. "We are extremely short-staffed. Basically our agency is a shell of its former self."

Social worker Katy Coleman also testified, saying she previously had spoken out about crisis conditions at the agency only to see them worsen.

"It's barely staying afloat," she said, according to Holton's order.

A lawyer for the cabinet, Erica Saylor, also spoke, saying the staff is "overwhelmed" and the only solution is "more bodies and more money."

Holton, in his order, cites the case of two youths who had appeared in his court who are in the cabinet's care and were supposed to be moved from detention to a setting for treatment.

In both cases, Holton repeatedly gave the cabinet 72 hours to move the youths from detention into care without results, his order said. He cited confusion, delays and other bureaucratic problems as contributing to the problem.

In some cases, no cabinet worker showed up for hearings he had scheduled to try to get help for the youths, his order said.

Holton's order notes that the cabinet by law is responsible for appropriate services for children in its care.

"It is the responsibility of the cabinet secretary and the relevant supervisory staff to ensure that daily staffing of the agency is sufficient to carry out the cabinet's statutory responsibilities and comply with the orders issued by the courts of this commonwealth," the order said.

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at 502-582-4228 or dyetter@courier-journal.com.