All Kentuckians are mandated reporters. If you believe a child is being abused or neglected, call the Child Protection Hotline.
For contact information in other states, please visit our Report It page.
Child help: National Abuse Hotline:
1-800-4-CHILD
or 1-800-422-4453
By Cortney Downs, Kentucky Youth Advocates With the 2021 legislative session behind us, Face It partners can celebrate critical policy and budget wins for kids and reflect on the unique challenges presented this year. The 30-day session required legislators to address the urgent needs of those negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic;...
Contact:Mara Powellmpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – In the closing days of the 2021 legislative session, the Kentucky Senate ensured final passage of an important bill for survivors of child sexual abuse, House Bill 472. “According to data from the latest national Child Maltreatment Report, there were more than 20,000 child maltreatment victims in...
Contact:Mara Powellmpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – The 2021 Kentucky General Assembly is taking important action for kids in its final days. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee ensured passage of House Bill 472, a measure to support survivors of child sexual abuse. “The research tells us that only 38 percent of children who have...
Contact:Mara Powellmpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – The Kentucky House of Representatives emphasized their commitment to prioritizing survivors of child abuse with today’s passage of House Bill 472, sponsored by Representative Lynn Bechler. “With around one-third of all child sexual assault victims being under the age of 12, many children lack the capacity to understand...
Contact:Mara Powellmpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – Today, the House Judiciary Committee demonstrated their support for survivors of childhood sexual abuse with passage of House Bill 472, sponsored by Representative Lynn Bechler. “The data tells us that one in four girls and one in thirteen boys will experience sexual abuse at some point in their...
By Cortney Downs, Kentucky Youth Advocates One in four girls and one in thirteen boys will experience sexual abuse at some point in their childhood, with more than 90% of perpetrators being someone the child or their family knows. Research tells us that most adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse don’t disclose, or tell...
By Cortney Downs, Kentucky Youth Advocates For the third year in a row, Kentucky has the highest rate of child maltreatment in the nation. Kentucky also has much higher rates of domestic violence and caregiver substance use in cases of child abuse than the national average. With more than 20,000 cases...
This was originally posted as an op-ed by The Courier Journal on January 29, 2021. By Keith Inman Last March I wrote in The Courier Journal of the urgent need to come together as we socially distanced, especially for our families experiencing extraordinary levels of stress and isolation. Throughout the course of the COVID-19...
By Cortney Downs, Policy and Advocacy Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates In 2020, Dr. Melissa Currie, Medical Director and Chief of the Kosair Charities Division of Pediatric Forensic Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, said that “strong state policies and sufficient budget investments can...
Has anyone else felt themselves climbing a series of steep learning curves over the past few months? How a novel coronavirus is transmitted to humans. How to homeschool a child. How deep and destructive systemic racism is. Our brains have been challenged to take in, process, and take action on...