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Committee advances ‘Baby Maya’ child-protection bill with rebuttable presumption and reporting requirements
Summary
House Bill 574, called the “Baby Maya” bill in committee, would require certain people to report births to parents with prior child-removal histories and create a rebuttable presumption allowing initial removal and an ex parte emergency custody order in some cases; the committee approved the bill 12–1.
The House Committee on Families and Children voted to recommend House Bill 574, legislation the sponsor described as intended to prevent a repeat of the case known in testimony as “Baby Maya.” The committee gave the bill a favorable recommendation by a 12–1 vote.
Sponsor Rep. Myron Dossett said the bill is intended to add “guardrails” after the death of an infant referred to in testimony as Baby Maya. Dossett said the measure would require a report to Kentucky State Police, local law enforcement, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the commonwealth’s attorney or a county attorney when a person has reasonable knowledge that a child has been born to a parent who previously had children removed for neglect or abuse.
The bill’s text, as presented in committee, includes multiple parts: a reporting requirement (Section 1); a rebuttable presumption enabling the cabinet to make an initial determination regarding immediate safety and potential removal (Section 2); a conforming amendment to KRS (Section 3); an ex parte emergency custody order to enable immediate removal when there is risk of harm (Section 4); other conforming changes (Section 5); and a provision naming the act “Baby Maya law” (Section 6).
Committee members asked whether the bill creates additional mandatory reporters or penalties for failing to report. Wesley Duke, general counsel for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Commissioner Lisa Dennis of the Department for Community Based Services said Kentucky already is a mandatory-reporting state and the bill does not expand the list of mandated reporters or add new penalties. Dennis said the cabinet currently lacks a technical data-sharing system with hospitals but officials and the Kentucky Hospital Association have been part of discussions about sharing information such as addresses with law enforcement when permitted by law.
Chair Heffern clarified that the bill’s rebuttable presumption does not automatically remove parental rights but allows the cabinet to make an initial determination and, if warranted, seek emergency custody. After discussion, the committee moved and seconded the bill; the chair reported passage with a favorable recommendation 12–1.
