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State Capitol

House Panel Sends Adoption and Foster Care Overhaul to the Floor

Stu Johnson

The first legislative step to substantial changes in Kentucky’s adoption and foster care programs took place Thursday in Frankfort. Unanimous approval came from the House Health and Family Services Committee.

The bill comes in at over one hundred pages and covers a variety of issues including termination of parental rights, foster parent input, and efforts to ensure good care for drug addicted infants.  Bill Sponsor David Meade of Stanford says new timelines are established to determine whether children in foster care return to their biological family. “Every child either wants to be reunified with their family as quickly as possible or they want to find a family that they know they’re going to be with for the rest of their lives,” said Meade.

 

First Lady Glenna Bevin, the mother of four adopted children, participated in the work study process.  After the vote she noted, quote, “There are a lot of people coming together for our children.  What more do you want?”

 

The measure comes before lawmakers after a multi-month review.  Committee Member Robert Benvenuti thanked state cabinet officials for collaborating well with lawmakers.  “It is never easy as someone who is trying to run an executive branch agency to have the legislature looking and poking around and saying ‘you could do this better, you could do that better’, when you’re doing it every day in the trenches,” noted Benvenuit.

 

David Meade told the committee the measure also seeks uniformity for the home study process for both private and state adoptions and foster care placements.

 

Another one of the many provisions sets out stricter standards in removing drug addicted infants from families.  Bill Sponsor David Meade of Stanford says it is one of many pressing issues related to caring for children.  “I had a nurse that came to me to talk to me about this the other day and she said at one point just a couple of months ago they had either three or four drug addicted babies in the hospital at the same time.  And she said, at that point, nothing had really been done to try to protect those children,” said Meade.

 

The far-reaching measure allows for greater involvement of foster parents with state social workers.  It also calls for a privatization study to examine ways to increase efficiency within the foster care system.

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