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 Kentucky House today for passing HB 380 to make the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA) cover all Kentucky communities. This bill will promote safe and stable housing for families while also protecting responsible landlords. Thank you to all members who voted for the bill today and to Representative Jim Glenn for sponsoring.

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 [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the House today for passing SB 60, sponsored by Senator Whitney Westerfield, to better protect child victims of repeated abuse. Children often find it difficult to remember specific details of each incident of abuse, yet they can recount the abuse that occurred. This bill would accommodate a child’s more generalized testimony when a tragedy of repeated abuse occurs, [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today the House Health and Welfare committee passed House Bill 475, sponsored by Representative Rita Smart, which ensures the safety of children in two settings children often find themselves. The first includes being in the care of a babysitter. Parents need ways to ensure that their child is safe with the person caring for them in their home. Having the ability [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Our youth justice system works best when youth are held accountable for actions and also have a chance to get back on track to becoming productive adults. Today, we applaud the steps of Senator Whitney Westerfield and the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing SB 294 out of committee to help youth who messed up be able to succeed as adults. [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing HB 40 to allow expungement for certain low-level felonies. We also thank Representative Darryl Owens for sponsoring the bill. We especially appreciate the work of President Stivers and Senator Westerfield for their work on language that will help the bill move forward this year. Approximately 13 percent of Kentucky children have lived [...]