In other news, April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

At a Louisville rally last week, Kentucky lawmakers and advocates looked back at some of the legislation passed during the session to help protect children and young people.

And they looked ahead to what still needs to be done in Kentucky, about 15,000 children experienced child abuse every year, with the majority being under the age of four and the biggest group being those that are under the age of one.

And this affects every community, every demographic and every facet of their life.

Their homes aren't safe, and sometimes their schools aren't safe, and every single piece of their life is affected by this.

And so we need the people who are responsible for those parts of our lives to all come together.

Some of this is medical interventions.

This is law enforcement that's investigating those cases.

This is prosecutors that are bringing those things to trial.

And these are the social service agencies across the community that are helping those kids then heal and recover and live the rest of their lives.

I sponsored Senate Bill 73 that would criminalize sextortion as a felony sex crime and require education about sextortion in our schools and with our law enforcement agencies.

We know that sextortion has contributed to an alarming increase in the number of suicides among our children and teenagers.

And with the advancements in AI software, we know that the challenges with sextortion will remain for the foreseeable future.

I am grateful that the governor did not delay in signing this bill, as it was signed into law just last week on March 12th, Senate Bill 26, which was filed by Senator Brandon Storm.

And I am the proud co-sponsor of that bill.

Senate Bill 26 provides no provides.

Parents, foster parents or relative caregiver can be denied placement of a child on the sole basis of a disability of the parent, foster parent, or relative caregiver.

This issue has been litigated all the way through the Supreme Court, and this bill now clarifies the law in protecting the rights of those with disabilities, while also ensuring the safe and proper placement of our vulnerable children.

We want to increase prevention and awareness.

We want everybody in the community to be eyes and ears on not just protecting children, but helping children heal.

Being being a support system for them, helping them in that next part of their process.

We indicted 214 specific specifically, SVU cases.

Eight of them are already post-conviction, so they're already done.

Went through trial.

And we're also have interns that were involved in 148 defendants sentencing hearings.

148 criminal defendants that have been held responsible for the wrongdoings.

And in 2024, also, we have prosecutors said it handled ten rape and first degree charges, ten sodomy in the first degree charges.

We have already closed cases dealing with incest and 23 assault, one charges, and that is just within the past ten months.

Trust your instincts.

Pay attention.

Look at things like a person who wants to be alone with children.

Look at the spaces that you're occupying.

Ask yourself, as a parent, as a citizen, as a neighbor.

What?

What are you observing?

What can you do?

And if you suspect things, don't be afraid to report it.

But another thing that you can really do to help prevent child abuse is to be a be in a kid's life.

Children who experience abuse are more likely to be children who are isolated and who are alone, and who don't have an adult in their life who is looking out for them.

So be that adult.

Be that adult that that would stand in the way, that would be their shoulder, that would be their voice.

That makes them less likely to be targeted.