UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 111
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AN ACT relating to the Health Access Nurturing Development Services Program. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 211.690 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) There is established within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services the Health 4
Access Nurturing Development Services (HANDS) Program as a voluntary 5
statewide home visitation program, for the purpose of providing assistance to at-risk 6
parents during the prenatal period and until the child's third birthday. The HANDS 7
Program recognizes that parents are the primary decision-makers for their children. 8
The goals of the HANDS Program are to: 9
(a) Facilitate safe and healthy delivery of babies; 10
(b) Provide information about optimal child growth and human development; 11
(c) Facilitate the safety and health of homes;[ and] 12
(d) Encourage greater self-sufficiency of families; and 13
(e) Provide information about maternal and postpartum depression. 14
(2) The cabinet shall administer the HANDS Program in cooperation with[ the Cabinet 15
for Health and Family Services and the] local public health departments. The 16
voluntary home visitation program may supplement, but shall not duplicate, any 17
existing program that provides assistance to parents of young children. 18
(3) The HANDS Program shall include an educational component on the recognition 19
and prevention of pediatric abusive head trauma, as defined in KRS 620.020. 20
(4) The HANDS Program shall include an educational component on the 21
recognition and treatment of maternal and postpartum depression. 22
(5) Participants in the HANDS Program shall express informed consent to participate 23
by written agreement on a form promulgated by the Cabinet for Health and Family 24
Services. 25