SUPPORTING KENTUCKY FAMILIES
Our families are the bedrock of our society. It is in our families that children learn the values and discipline that will shape the course of their lives. But far too many of our families are struggling. And governmental policies have not been directed to taking care of the family unit. Establishing a good business environment that helps companies grow and thrive is important, no doubt about that. And protecting individual rights is crucial, as we’ve seen in an acute way over the past few years. But while we improve in those areas, one of my main efforts has been to help put the Kentucky family at the center of policy discussions. I want you to know that your legislature has been making this effort for the past six years, and the following are some of the things that we have accomplished or are working on. Please feel free to send me an email letting me know your thoughts on these policies or to suggest additional ways to support Kentucky families.
Kentucky first to fund childhood cancer research
Kentucky was the first state in the nation to appropriate dollars for childhood cancer research. We did that in 2018, and this investment has led other states, many of them much larger than Kentucky, to also appropriate dollars to childhood cancer research. Kentucky being the first to do this is a major source of pride in the cancer research community and I pray that it helps countless children in the years to come.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
In 2018 I filed the first bill in Kentucky to prohibit discrimination related to an employee’s pregnancy. I filed this bill because it is important to protect women who want to become mothers and stay in the workforce. So we worked on educating legislators in 2018 and the next year the General Assembly passed The Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act, (KPWA), (KRS 344.030 to 344.110), which expressly prohibits employment discrimination in relation to an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. In addition, under the KPWA it is unlawful for an employer to fail to make reasonable accommodations for any employee with limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical conditions who requests an accommodation, including but not limited to: (1) the need for more frequent or longer breaks; (2) time off to recover from childbirth; (3) acquisition or modification of equipment; (4) appropriate seating; (5) temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position; (6) job restructuring; (7) light duty; modified work schedule; and (8) private space that is not a bathroom for expressing breast milk.
Foster Care System and Adoption Services
We decreased the timelines for adoption and for the time children are spending in foster care. We put restrictions on how many times foster children can be moved and created a foster child Bill of Rights to give them a voice in the process. We also gave foster parents more of a voice in court for the children they have in their care—i.e., they have standing to make argument and be heard by the judge. Most importantly, in the past two years we put almost $40 million into prevention services to provide the resources for families to stay together instead of entering the foster care system. Unfortunately, KY is number one in the nation for abuse and neglect. Most of that is neglect, but it isn’t because the parents don’t love their children and won’t take care of them. It’s often because they lack the resources many times to adequately provide for them. We have also extended the leave the birthing parents receive to adotpion parents, to stimulate that crucial connection between parent and child. For the past three years the number of children in foster care has decreased due to our focus on the foster and adoption system. We’ve done a lot but there is still a great deal to do. And I am proud of the direction in which we are headed.
Paid Parental Leave
In 2021 I joined with members across the aisle to begin the discussions of a paid parental leave program, first to public employees and to encourage it in the private sector. That bipartisan effort has led to a working group led by Rep. Samara Heavrin from Grayson County to find the right balance and to further assist parents in the workforce. This is another common sense and bipartisan approach to helping businesses and, most importantly, the Kentucky family. Incidentally, the federal government has already done this, with a bill passed with overwhelming support among both parties in Congress and signed and advocated for by President Trump.
Birthing Centers
For a few years now I have been working on a bill to bring birthing centers to Kentucky to provide pregnant women more options in where to deliver their baby. 48 states already have birthing centers, and it is past time for Kentucky to provide this option to Kentucky mothers. Birthing centers are sort of a middle approach to giving birth, between delivering in a hospital and delivering at home. Many women would prefer a third option with more protections than are available at home while not delivering in a hospital. Birthing centers are safe places, requiring a license and professionals experienced in delivering babies and caring for pregnant women. In my district it seems that everyone knows someone who has traveled to Indiana to deliver their baby in an Indiana birthing center. These Kentucky women should have this option available to them in their home state. We have made headway in the past couple of years on this subject, and I will continue to push for birthing centers as an option for mothers in the Commonwealth.
Dignity of Incarcerated Mothers
If we are serious about supporting families, then our institutions must show it in every way, especially when the state has control over the mother giving birth. So in 2018 the General Assembly passed a bill to end shackling incarcerated women as they were giving birth. Senator Julie Raque Adams led this fight, and we can all be proud that Kentucky now does all that it can to encourage bonding between a mother in jail and her child in a dignified way. Yes, the person in prison needs to be held accountable, but this bill has taken a step forward in showing our respect for life. I have heard from numerous inmates that this recognition of their dignity is meaningful to them.
Childcare Assistance Program
To help more low- and middle-income working parents stay in the workforce if they so choose and to help small businesses, the legislature worked with the Kentucky business community to come up with a program to help with the high cost of childcare. Perhaps the largest issue facing Kentucky is the low workforce participation rate, and studies have shown that access to affordable childcare is a major drain on workforce participation, with costs ranging from $6,300 to $11,200 per year for an infant. This program is not mandatory, but encourages businesses to offer childcare assistance as an employment benefit. The Commonwealth also provided some funds—along with the business community—to begin this program, which, if successful, will not only increase the money in our families, but will also increase the state’s tax revenues by having more workers at work and paying taxes.
Protect and Support Fertility Treatment Act
There is nothing more meaningful for many people than bringing a child into this world. But for many of our families and neighbors that is not possible without medical help. That was the case with Leslie and me and for dozens of our friends that we know of—and surely many more friends of whose situations that we are unaware. Since Leslie and I had our first child 16 years ago, the fertility treatment services have changed, but one thing remains the same: these treatments are directed toward helping women get pregnant and become parents. And unless you have gone through infertility or a miscarriage, I am not sure you can fully understand the pain and hope that is associated with these treatments. So I believe we must act to ensure that with recent changes in federal and state law fertility treatments are not negatively impacted. To that end, I have brought several colleagues and groups together to craft a bill to introduce either as a stand-alone bill or an amendment to another bill to shield fertility treatments from other laws or any effort to curtail them.
Expanded post-birth Medicaid coverage to one year
This past year the legislature extended Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year for postpartum care. A federal report that looked at the implications of extending postpartum coverage found that one in three pregnancy-related deaths occur between one week and one year after childbirth. It adds that the postpartum period is critical for recovering from childbirth, addressing complications of delivery, ensuring mental health, managing infant care and transitioning from obstetric to primary care. Speaking about the bill, Rep. Kim Moser explained her reasoning for sponsoring the legislation: Kentucky has rates of maternal death that rival third world countries. We have 37.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, which is the highest in the nation.” This extension will be life-saving for many Kentucky mothers and is in line with our efforts to improve our Commonwealth for all mothers and families.