Contact:
Mara Powell
859-496-5524
mpowell@kyyouth.org

Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates

We thank the Kentucky House for passing HB 180, sponsored by Chair of the House Health and Family Services Committee Representative Addia Wuchner, to allow close family friends to serve as kinship caregivers. Placement with a close family friend, also known as fictive kin, can help reduce trauma when children must be removed from their home due to abuse or neglect and can be a vital alternative to foster care.

We also thank the First Lady’s Office and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for championing this bill and helping kids more quickly find safe, loving homes with adults who care about them.