Child advocacy laws take effect

Messenger-Inquirer - 7/15/2017

July 15--Four laws for child advocacy passed in the Kentucky legislature last session have taken effect in July and will be implemented in the coming months to the praise of advocacy groups.

The bills advocated by Blueprint Kentucky's Children -- a coalition of groups led by the Kentucky Youth Advocates -- in the state Senate and House signed by Gov. Matt Bevin in March cover aspects of child safety from justice to caregiving.

House Bill 180 allows for close family friends to act as a kinship caregiver; a position that had been previously hard to obtain for nonrelated friends and neighbors. The kinship caregiver designation also allows caregivers to receive benefits to care for a child.

Rosemary Conder, executive director of CASA of Ohio Valley, said the ability for friends and neighbors to more readily care for a child in need will greatly improve the transition for children in some cases.

"Even being removed from an abusive home can be traumatic for a child because of the change a child can experience in a foster home," Conder said. "Having a friendly face the child is familiar with can help reduce the trauma a child might have."

Conder said widening the range of resources for a child in need of placement while maintaining the standard of background checks and review for homes can help bridge a gap in the amount of available foster homes.

Senate Bill 195 expanded the expungement and sealing of juvenile records and created an automatic process to assist kids who have stayed out of trouble with having their records expunged.

Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said in a statement that the bill would assist kids deserving a second chance in continuing to make good choices.

"When kids get back on track, we must ensure they are prepared to succeed in the future," Brooks said. "SB 195 will make youth record expungement more consistent with adult record expungement after passage of HB 40 during the 2016 General Assembly."

Senate Bill 236 gave parents the right to request a background check when hiring a child caregiver, made the request form available on the Cabinet of Health and Family Services website and requires background checks for all applicants to a public school. It also requires background checks for employees and volunteers at youth camps, defines terms and restrictions for youth camps and allows private and parochial schools as well as churches to request background checks.

Senate Bill 120 instituted reforms, redefinitions and programs to assist parents released from jail to return to work in order to support their families. It also helps ensure that recently incarcerated people who have shown a desire to avoid crime will have the opportunities to rebuild their life with their families through routes for expungement and assistance.

Conder said allowing parents to rebuild families and assisting in their reformation can help end a cycle of broken homes that can be seen in families where parents are frequently incarcerated.

"A child's biggest influence is their role models when they are young, but, living in an abusive home, they don't always know what a normal life is," Conder said. "Giving parents a chance helps break the cycle we keep seeing in the community."

Blueprint for Kentucky's Children is currently forming its priorities for the 2018 legislative session and will announce more updates on its website. A legislative tracker can be found at http://blueprintky.org/bill-tracker/.

Jacob Dick, 270-228-2837, jdick@messenger-inquirer.com,Twitter: @jdickjournalism

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