Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We thank the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing SB 195, sponsored by Chairman Whitney Westerfield, to allow youth to expunge additional offenses. The expungement process would also be automatic in some cases, which helps young people who don't have the resources or support to seek expungement. When kids get back on track, we must help them be prepared to succeed [...]

Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We thank the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing SB 20, sponsored by Chairman Whitney Westerfield, to respond effectively to children who get in trouble. The youth justice system is a maze that has too many entrances and too few ways out. SB 20 seeks to make adjustments to the youth justice reforms made in 2014 to better hold youth accountable, [...]

Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing SB 120, sponsored by Chairman Whitney Westerfield, to give adults who have served their time the opportunity to get back to work and care for their children. Kentucky has the highest rate in the nation of children who have experienced a parent being incarcerated, and SB 120 will help limit the negative [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the House Health and Family Services Committee for passing HB 180, sponsored by Committee Chair Representative Addia Wuchner, to allow close family friends to serve as kinship caregivers. This type of placement with a close family friend offers a beneficial alternative to foster care and helps to relieve trauma children often face upon removal from their home. We [...]

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 859-496-5524 Jeffersontown, KY - There was no more profound point in the Governor’s address than his clarion pledge to fundamentally reform Kentucky’s child welfare system. The commitment to tackle issues from foster care to adoption, from child abuse to family supports, can be a game changer for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable kids. And opportunities abound in efforts like family preservation, kinship care, and the transition out of foster care. Making that commitment [...]