Blueprint Legislative Priority

Allow paid family leave to state employees

House Bill 42 would allow state employees to access 12 weeks of paid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Allow paid family leave to state employees

House Bill 54 would allow state employees to access 12 weeks of paid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Expand local control to curb tobacco use among youth and improve health

House Bill 147 would allow city and county governments the option to regulate the use, display, sale, and distribution of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Enact a Continued State Budget

House Bill 192 would enact a continuation state budget that, among other things, will impact child health coverage and care, education, and safety.

Review the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children budget priority checklist here. Read more about the 2021 budget process and priorities that kids and families are counting on for a strong state budget.

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Strengthen the statute of limitations timeframes for cases of child sexual abuse

House Bill 472 would strengthen the current statute of limitations timeframes for misdemeanor sexual abuse offenses from five to ten years to accommodate for delayed abuse disclosure.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Expand court discretion when determining the transfer of youth to adult court

Senate Bill 36 would allow juvenile court judges to use their discretion in the decision to transfer youth ages 14 and
older to adult court for situations involving a firearm.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Expand local control to curb tobacco use among youth and improve health

Senate Bill 81 would allow city and county governments the option to regulate the use, display, sale, and distribution of
tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Support the Health and Well-being of Pregnant Women who are Incarcerated

Senate Bill 84 would establish housing and medical observation of inmates who are pregnant and up to six weeks postpartum, establish a process for accessing community-based programs, and address sex crimes perpetrated by peace officers.

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Expand Child Care Access to Best Serve Kids, Families, and Local Economies

Senate Bill 148 would amend local planning and zoning laws to allow regulated home-based family child care options to safely serve children in their neighborhoods

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

Blueprint Legislative Priority

Establish a minimum age of jurisdiction

Senate Bill 256 would establish a minimum age of 12 years old that a child can be charged with an offense, and connect the child and family to community-based services instead of sending them through the juvenile justice system.

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

Summary

HB 19 would prohibit mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts with a minor.

Summary

HB 33 would require employers with 50 or more employees to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave for an employee who has been employed for at least one year.

Summary

House Bill 50 would support mental health parity — the equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders in insurance plans.

Summary

HB 64 would expand eligibility for preschool education programs to children who reside in households with an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Summary

HB 65 would require all certified public school employees to complete high quality behavioral and mood disorder training annually.

Summary

HB 78 would prohibit disqualification from benefits for workers unemployed as a result of domestic violence and abuse, dating violence and abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, and would require data collection and training to personnel who process claims related to domestic violence.

Summary

HB 86 would limit use of solitary confinement for juveniles and require reporting of data on its use.

Summary

HB 106 would define “Child Care and Development Fund” and “Child Care Assistance Program” and would establish income eligibility requirements for the Child Care Assistance Program.

Summary

HB 126 would focus incarceration on those who pose a risk or a threat to public safety by increasing the felony threshold for theft and fraud offenses to $1,000.

Summary

HB 131 would prohibit employers from preventing an employee to take family care leave and would establish parameters to allow employees to take family care leave for the birth of a child or to care for a family member.

Summary

HB 134 would eliminate the use of corporal punishment in schools.

Summary

HB 140 would require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish minimum standards to telehealth, reestablish the requirement for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and managed care organizations to study the impact of telehealth on the state’s health care delivery system, require reimbursement rates for telehealth to be equivalent to reimbursement rates for the same service provided in person and more.

Summary

HB 181 would require public postsecondary institutions to provide accommodations for lactating students and require reasonable time to accommodate the lactating student’s needs without academic penalty.

Summary

HB 212 would require the child and maternal fatality annual report to do a demographic analysis by race, income, and geography and require the annual report be sent to the Interim Joint Committee on Health, Welfare, and Family Services.

Summary

HB 221 would establish requirements for reports of alleged child dependency, abuse, or neglect.

Summary

HB 253 would require completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form as a high school graduation requirement, and support students in meeting the requirement.

Summary

HB 283 would require Medicaid to cover behavioral health services for eligible pregnant women for 12 months postpartum.

Summary

HB 287 would allow maternal depression screenings to be claimed as a service for the child as part of the Early and Periodic, Diagnostic and Treatment benefit.

Summary

HB 290 would extend Medicaid eligibility for certain new mothers for up to 12 months postpartum.

Summary

HB 294 would require all hospitals or alternative birthing centers offering obstetric services or licensed health care providers, including nurse midwives or certified professional midwives, to provide each maternity patient with information on maternal depression and available resources. It would also require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to post on its website information about providers who assist with maternal depression.

Summary

HB 295 would require certain health benefit plans to provide coverage for counseling interventions for pregnant and postpartum persons at increased risk of perinatal depression, including persons who have suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Summary

HB 297 would require the Health Access Nurturing Development Services program to provide educational information about maternal and postpartum depression.

Summary

HB 299 would require insurers offering health benefit plans to provide a special enrollment period for pregnant individuals.

Summary

HB 348 would establish the broadband deployment fund in the Office of Innovation within the Department of Agriculture to work towards efforts around the last-mile of broadband for homes and businesses.

Summary

HB 350 would require the Department for Medicaid Services and Medicaid managed care organizations to provide coverage for lactation counseling, lactation consultation, and breastfeeding equipment.

Summary

HB 369 would allow public high school students currently enrolled to request to use the 2021-2022 school year as a supplemental school year to retake and supplement coursework already completed. It would also allow nonpublic schools to also implement supplemental school years and require local boards of education to either approve or deny all requests.

Summary

HB 384 would permit the administrator of a school that participates in the Federal School Breakfast Program to authorize up to 15 minutes of the student attendance day to provide the opportunity for children to eat breakfast during instructional time.

Summary

HB 492 would establish custodial, permanency, and service options to a relative or fictive kin caregiver and ensure a Cabinet for Health and Family Services employee can request separate counsel whenever that employee is required to be in court, among other items.

Summary

HB 505 would establish within the State Treasury a fund to be used to make contributions to Kentucky opportunity accounts for children.

Summary

HB 579 would allow parents or guardians to choose that their student not participate in statewide student assessments.

Summary

SB 10 would establish a Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity that is tasked with providing research driven policy proposals and required to publish an annual report.

Summary

SB 21 would permit voluntary transport to a hospital or psychiatric facility with authorization from the facility and signed consent from patient, or parent if under 16 years old, parent and patient consent if minor is over age 16. It would also establish that any qualified mental health professional may provide outpatient mental health counseling to a child who is age 16 or older and is an unaccompanied youth.

Summary

SB 23 would require the Legislative Research Commission to identify any bill, amendment, or committee sub that may result in a health disparity impact and require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to carry out a health disparity review, if necessary, within 30 days.

Summary

SB 30 would prohibit mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts with a minor.

Summary

SB 42 would require that training programs in suicide assessment, treatment, and management include cultural diversity for certain professionals.

Summary

SB 55 would prohibit copayments or cost sharing to be paid by any medical assistance recipients, prohibit copayments be charged in the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP), and prohibit deductible, copayments, and coinsurance requirements for Medicaid telehealth services.

Summary

SB 66 would define staff members and create employment and background checks for staff members working or volunteering at youth camps.

Summary

SB 77 would require greater minority representation on a superintendent screening committee in a school district with a minority student population of 50 percent or greater.

Summary

SB 128 would allow public high school students currently enrolled to request to use the 2021-2022 school year as a supplemental school year to retake and supplement coursework already completed. It would also allow nonpublic schools to also implement supplemental school years and require local boards of education to either approve or deny all requests.

Summary

SB 171 would require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate regs around the operation of splash pads to ensure health and safety.