Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, HB 40 to allow record expungement for certain low-level felonies took a final step before heading to the Governor’s desk for his signature. We thank members of the House for concurring with the Senate changes and sending the bill to the Governor. This legislation impacts children as it helps many parents with a criminal history get back to work [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the full House for passing SB 40 today to create a pilot project to open courts in child welfare cases. This bill is now just steps away from the Governor’s desk. SB 40, sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams, will open courts in a limited way in order to evaluate how this practice impacts children and the broader [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, we thank the Senate for passing HB 40 to allow expungement for certain low-level felonies. We thank the many Senators who worked to find compromises to move the bill through the Senate for the first time today. We appreciate the work of Representative Darryl Owens, Senate President Robert Stivers, and Senator Whitney Westerfield for championing the bill. We know [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates SB 60, sponsored by Senator Whitney Westerfield has had its final vote and is now headed to the Governor’s desk for his signature. We applaud the House and Senate for working in a bi-partisan manner to pass legislation that will better protect child victims of repeated abuse. SB 60 will accommodate a child’s more generalized testimony when a tragedy of [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Budgets require tough choices and wise compromise. Tough budget times are the moments when we learn what lawmakers hold as values and priorities. Now that the Governor, House, and Senate have put forth their respective versions of a state budget, the real test comes for Kentucky and its children. Will we invest in the Child Care Assistance Program as a [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We thank the House Judiciary Committee for passing SB 40 to create a pilot project to open courts in child welfare cases. This bill, sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams, will provide an opportunity to evaluate how opening courts impacts children and the systems involved in child welfare cases through this pilot effort. We appreciate the work of the External [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the passage of House Bill 475, sponsored by Representative Rita Smart, by the full House today, which will help keep children safe in two settings they often spend time. The first provision allows parents to check the Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry maintained by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to find out if potential babysitters [...]