Reps. Joni Jenkins and Angie Hatton are named to new Child Welfare Oversight & Advisory panel

On Tuesday, June 12, 2018, House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins announced that State Representatives Joni Jenkins of Shively and Angie Hatton of Whitesburg will serve on the General Assembly’s new Child Welfare and Oversight Committee. The statutory committee was formed with this year’s passage of House Bill 1, which streamlines and improves the laws governing adoption and foster care in Kentucky. It was based on the recommendations of a bipartisan House task force that spent much of last year focused on the issue. Representative Hatton said House Bill 1 is a major step in the right direction, but this is an ongoing journey. According to House Bill 1, the committee will review and analyze child-welfare issues in Kentucky, which will include foster care, adoption, child abuse, neglect and dependency. It will receive ongoing reports from state agencies with oversight in those areas, and will include other issues, such as the possible privatization of foster-care services, efforts to reduce childhood fatalities and access to quality and affordable childcare.