Kentucky lawmakers honored for their efforts to prevent child abuse

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Two Kentucky lawmakers have been recognized for their work on policies aimed at preventing child abuse.

During the Kids Are Worth It conference, Senator Brandon Storm and Representative Nick Wilson were honored for their legislative efforts.

Storm worked on Senate Bill 26, which ensures that an application for placement or adoption of children cannot be denied solely because of a disability.

“It wasn’t my idea to come up with this legislation. This was something that was brought to me because there was an issue perceived by the court system,” Storm said.

Representative Wilson was recognized for his work on House Bill 805, which changes the definition of “safety plan” to specifically reference risks to a child’s safety.

“We’re all trying to move in the direction and we want to make it a collaborative effort with everyone… but the point is for no kids to fall through the cracks,” Wilson said.

Governor Andy Beshear, who signed both bills into law earlier this year, said progress has been made but emphasized there is still more to do.

“We need to look every single year at the new laws or the new approaches that we should have. We can never stop looking for what’s next, because these predators never stop looking at the different ways they can try to prey on our kids.”

Beshear added that protecting children requires relentless effort on both law enforcement and prevention fronts.