Listen in as Cortney Downs, Policy and Advocacy Director at Kentucky Youth Advocates, shares more on Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priority bills, Senate Bill 8 and Senate Bill 97, which will impact children and families within the child welfare system.

Stay up-to-date on Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities and other bills that are good for kids on our Kentucky General Assembly Bill Tracker. 

Over the past few years, Kentucky has taken significant steps to improve the child welfare system and how we respond to or prevent child maltreatment. SB 8 and SB 97, among others, take steps to continue addressing the impact across the continuum.

SB 8 is sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams. This legislation will create a uniform definition of child abuse and neglect that clearly differentiates between neglect and poverty, establish new membership of the State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, ensure victims of child maltreatment have access to critical medical examinations, broaden the definition of fictive kin, expand opportunities for youth aging out of foster care, and more.

SB 97 is sponsored by Senator Danny Carroll. It requires coroners to immediately notify the appropriate authorities of the death of a child under 18 and strengthens the External Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel, and more. 

Both of these bills have passed the Kentucky Senate and been received in the House of Representatives.