Blueprint Legislative Priority

Increase transparency and accountability within child welfare cases

Senate Bill 48 would, among other things, establish a more independent Ombudsman that provides oversight of the child welfare system by investigating concerns of safety and well-being, identifying systemic issues related to administration or practice, and making recommendations for improvements.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Support the health and well-being of new moms and their babies

Senate Bill 135 would require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to make publicly available information and an assessment tool on postpartum depression and other related mental health disorders, as well as develop and implement a panel aimed at improving the quality of prevention and treatment of perinatal mental health disorders.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Close the gaps in reporting of suspected maltreatment

Senate Bill 229 would, among other things, ensure the reporting of child abuse or neglect is properly communicated to the appropriate external agencies and clarifies that agencies cannot utilize a chain of command maltreatment reporting process. With the House committee substitute, this measure also allows the transfer of child welfare case hearings to the Office of Legal Services within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to create better outcomes for children and families.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Ensure access to an ID for youth facing homelessness

House Bill 21 would update Kentucky’s homeless ID law to allow unaccompanied homeless youth to get an ID without parental permission.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Promote the well-being and financial stability of survivors of domestic violence and stalking and their children

House Bill 93 would ensure survivors of intimate partner violence can access unemployment insurance benefits if their reason for not working is directly related to the violence, assault, or stalking.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority fact sheet.

Summary

SB 63 would establish definitions of protective hairstyles and prohibit discrimination based on those hairstyles in schools.

Summary

SB 79 would set forth the intentions of and process for the Safe at Home Program, which protects applicants, such as vulnerable families experiencing domestic violence, from their address from being publicly available.

Summary

SB 87 would make it a crime to unlawfully store a firearm and would enhance the penalty if the firearm was used and resulted in serious injury or death.

Summary

SB 105 would establish the Kentucky healthcare workforce investment fund to enable the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), healthcare programs, and healthcare providers and facilities to match public and private dollars for the purpose of awarding scholarships to eligible students and healthcare incentives to eligible healthcare programs, including dental hygienists and assistants, among other things.

Summary

SB 158 would direct the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts to enter into a contract with a third party to conduct a performance review of the Department of Juvenile Justice within the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.

Summary

SB 162, with the committee substitute, would strengthen data tracking of the Department of Juvenile Justice, access to mental health treatments, training of staff, and funds to support changes, among other things.

Summary

HB 41 would develop a foster care student toolkit to provide resources and information to assist school personnel in addressing the unique educational needs of foster children.

Summary

HB 66 would create temperature standards for disconnection of electric and gas services, establish a certificate of need for persons who are at risk if utility service is disconnected that can be provided by a physician, physician assistant, community-based service organization, or faith-based service organization, and require waiver of termination fees, reconnection fees, and late fees for customers having obtained a certificate of need, among several other things.

Summary

HB 129, and its companion SB 67, would require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate updated administrative regulations to establish licensure standards for freestanding birthing centers, including requiring accreditation by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers, compliance with the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) Standards for Birth Centers, and consistent plans for transfer and safe transport to a hospital as needed.

Summary

HB 162 would prohibit mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts with a person under 18 years of age. It would also require the Department for Public Health and the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities to develop, produce, and disseminate educational materials regarding sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.

Summary

HB 208 would require that certain health insurance plans cover, at no charge, an annual mental health wellness exam by a mental health professional.

Summary

HB 231 would allow the Department for Community Based Services to request a criminal justice agency to perform a federal name-based criminal history record check of each adult residing in a home in which a child is placed during an emergency placement.

Summary

HB 266 would create a bill of rights for children who are incarcerated by the statewide detention program.

Summary

HB 271 would establish the duties and responsibilities of the Kentucky Child Mental Health Services Access Program and that the community board for mental health or individuals with an intellectual disability shall implement, staff, and operate the program.

Summary

HB 288 would, among other things, ensure public and certified nonpublic schools complete initial background checks and obtain reference checks of potential employees from previous employers, require applicants to disclose if they have been the subject of investigation, allegation, disciplinary actions, resignation, or termination regarding sexual misconduct in the past year, and require training for educators on appropriate communications, sexual misconduct, and grooming.

Summary

HB 440 would require appointment of a guardian ad litem for any unrepresented minor who is a party to the action or on behalf of whom a petition for an interpersonal protective order, emergency protective order, or domestic violence has been filed.

Summary

HJR 39 would direct the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to study all public assistance programs for opportunities to address the benefits cliff, study the cost of maintaining certain changes made to the Child Care Assistance Program, implement a user-friendly benefits cliff calculator tool, and develop and implement a federal Earned Income Tax Credit outreach and education program