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Kentucky

All Kentuckians are mandated reporters. If you believe a child is being abused or neglected, call the Child Protection Hotline.

1-877-KYSAFE1 or 1-877-597-2331

For contact information in other states, please visit our Report It page.

Additional Support:

Child help: National Abuse Hotline:
1-800-4-CHILD
or 1-800-422-4453

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Statement from the Face It® Movement on Kentucky House Passing SB 137

(Louisville, KY, March 29, 2018) – Today, the Kentucky House passed Senate Bill 137, which seeks to address abuse and protect future victims by giving judges the option to allow testimony from a trustworthy adult to whom a child has disclosed abuse.

Strong state policies help to strengthen communities and keep kids safe from abuse, which is why the Face It Movement to end child abuse convenes a broad-based policy work team that promotes policy recommendations on which our state legislators can take action.

“While a child may be comfortable disclosing abuse to a teacher or coach, some children aren’t able to testify in court due to fear or trauma,” said Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “Fear and inability to testify in court should not prevent a judge from hearing accurate information about a child’s experience. SB 137 takes a measured approach to give courts a more complete picture with information the child discloses, as other states have done. Kids deserve to have the information considered by the court.”

We thank Senator Whitney Westerfield for ensuring children’s voices are heard in court by championing SB 137. Thank you to Representatives Joe Fischer, Jason Nemes, Adam Koenig, and Tim Couch for their support on the House floor.

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About the Face It® Movement: The Face It Movement, conceived and created in 2012 as a response to the public outcry against the increasing number of child abuse deaths in the Commonwealth, and officially launched in April 2013 as an initiative led by Kosair Charities. Face It directly addresses the increasingly unacceptable number of child abuse deaths in Kentucky with the promotion of best practices in child abuse prevention and intervention, engaging the community, and advocating for effective policies to improve the child welfare system. For further information visit https://faceitabuse.org. Socially, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faceitabuse, Twitter: https://twitter.com/faceitabuse.