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

Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates

We thank the Senate Health and Welfare Committee for unanimously 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. When a child must be removed from their home, placement with a close family friend eases the trauma of removal. HB 180 prioritizes what’s best for the child during a difficult time of transition.

We thank Chairwoman Julie Raque Adams, and 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.