Children

Senate approves making it easier for foster parents to qualify for child care assistance

BY: - March 8, 2024

FRANKFORT — A Democrat’s bill aimed at making it easier for Kentuckians to become foster parents unanimously passed the Senate Thursday — after some friendly hazing aimed at the sponsor upon passing her first bill.? Senate Bill 240 would allow foster parents in Kentucky to qualify for? child care benefits while working outside the home […]

Is in vitro fertilization under threat in Kentucky too? Law matching Alabama’s deepens concerns

BY: - March 7, 2024

For Lisa Sobel and her husband, being able to have a child through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, was “a dream come true.” “For us, this really is a joy,” Sobel, of Louisville, said. “We want for there to be other families to be able to have this joy.” But the recent state Supreme Court […]

Ban on child sex dolls clears Senate, goes to governor

BY: - March 6, 2024

FRANKFORT — A bill felonzing the intentional ownership of a child sex doll has now passed both the Kentucky House and Senate and is on its way to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk.? Sen. Chris McDaniel presented the bill, sponsored in the House by Edgewood Republican Rep. Stephanie Dietz, on the Senate floor. It passed unanimously […]

Prospects for freestanding birth centers clouded despite committee advancing bill

BY: - March 6, 2024

FRANKFORT — A bill paving the way for freestanding birth centers in Kentucky was approved by a committee Wednesday despite concerns — but the sponsor says he won’t take it to the House floor without amendments addressing some of those worries.? House Bill 199 would, among other things, remove the certificate of need requirement for […]

Senate approves retroactive child support for months of pregnancy

BY: - March 5, 2024

FRANKFORT — A?bill that would allow Kentuckians to collect child support payments for fetuses as long as there is an order in place within a year of birth passed the Senate 36-2 Tuesday.? Senate Bill 110, sponsored by Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Fruit Hill, can now go to the House side for consideration.? “I believe that […]

Kentucky state employees would gain parental leave under bill approved by Senate

BY: - March 5, 2024

FRANKFORT — State employees could take up to four weeks of paid parental leave under a bill that the Kentucky Senate approved 28-10 on Tuesday.? Senate Bill 142 would entitle state government workers who’ve held their jobs for at least a year to take up to four weeks of paid leave after birth or adoption. […]

‘This is clearly the session for child care.’ Or is it?

BY: - March 5, 2024

FRANKFORT — As the Kentucky legislative session approaches “late in the game,” Sen. Danny Carroll said Tuesday the status of his Horizons Act is a “little concerning.”? The bill, which proposes Kentucky spend $300 million over the next two years to stabilize the child care industry, passed out of the Senate Families and Children Committee […]

Momnibus bill drives forward in Kentucky legislature

BY: - March 5, 2024

FRANKFORT — A maternal health bill nicknamed “Momnibus’ was unanimously approved by the Kentucky House Tuesday after about 20 minutes of discussion.? The bipartisan Momnibus came out of a working group of Republican and Democratic women in the House and the Senate.? The Momnibus legislation would expand the Health Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) program […]

Foster parents working from home could qualify for child care subsidies under bill clearing Senate committee

BY: - March 5, 2024

FRANKFORT — Megan Hamilton wants to be a foster mom.? But Hamilton, who lives in Bullitt County, works remotely for a Las Vegas company.? That means she cannot qualify for a child care subsidy in Kentucky, all because she works from home.? “Marketing writers do not make enough money to commute by private jet,” she […]

Ban on child sex dolls, using AI to make child porn clears hurdle

BY: - February 29, 2024

FRANKFORT — A House bill that would make it a felony to knowingly own a child sex doll in Kentucky passed the Senate Judiciary committee unanimously Thursday morning. House Bill 207 passed the House in early February and is making its way through the Senate. It can now go to the floor for consideration. Should […]

Louisville Democrat files bill to protect assisted reproduction, IVF in Kentucky

BY: - February 27, 2024

FRANKFORT — A Louisville Democrat filed a bill Tuesday aimed at “safeguarding” access to in vitro fertilization in Kentucky. Senate Bill 301, sponsored by Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, would protect from criminal liability medical providers who “engaged in assisted reproduction who meet the professional standard of care,” according to a copy provided to the […]

Kentuckians could collect child support for months of pregnancy under advancing bill

BY: - February 27, 2024

FRANKFORT — A bill paving the way for Kentuckians to collect child support for fetuses as long as there is an order in place within a year of a child’s birth passed unanimously out of a Senate committee Tuesday.? Senate Bill 110 would not apply if a child support order was filed when a child […]