For Immediate Release March 17, 1998
Contact: Melissa Forsythe or Mark Pfeiffer

Kentucky Puts Children First, Governor Signs HB 142

Kentucky’s children will be safer than ever before. That’s the intent of House Bill 142, signed into law today by Governor Paul Patton.

The measure, first proposed by the Patton administration during the 1996 Kentucky General Assembly, gives the courts and social workers broader abilities to intervene in abusive homes. Under the old law, emergency removal of a child from a family required proof of imminent danger. Now the system can also act to protect the child when there’s evidence of repeated physical injury or emotional harm, and in situations where the child is in immediate danger because the parent has failed to act. The bill also sets new grounds for termination of parental rights and expedites the procedures for terminating those rights by setting time limits for court action.

First Lady Judi Patton, who lobbied for the bill’s passage by testifying before House and Senate committee hearings, said today, "I believe there is no greater cause than the cause we take up for our children. Today as Paul (Patton) signs this important legislation, we know children’s lives will be safer and their futures protected. There is no greater gift."

Governor Patton said, "HB 142 is a tool that we can use to remove children from situations of abuse and neglect, before it’s too late to save them from harm. Our children deserve that protection and this bill ensures they’ll have it."

Families and Children Cabinet Secretary Viola Miller also spoke about the importance of the bill. "We all want children to grow up with families that care about them. But when families are not protecting their children, the safety of those children becomes our top priority. And when children must be removed from their parents, we must move them as quickly as possible into permanent homes with loving adults. This law helps us do that."

The Pattons were surrounded by children as the measure became law with the governor’s signature.

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