82nd District Rep. Nick Wilson has filed a bill that he hopes will lead to more consideration for parents who find themselves in trouble with the law.
House Bill 464, also known as the Family Preservation and Accountability Act, was filed on Jan. 21 with Wilson as the primary sponsor. 28th District Rep. Jared Bauman (R) and 2nd District Rep. Kim Holloway (R) are serving as co-sponsors.
The bill, which is currently being reviewed in the House Judiciary Committee, proposes the creation of a new section in the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) that would, according to the summary found on the KY Legislative Research Commission website (legislature.ky.gov), “require the court, upon conviction of the defendant, to consider the defendant’s status as a caretaker of a dependent child.”
HB 464 would also “provide that a court’s determination of a defendant’s status as a caretaker of a dependent child shall not be admissible as evidence,” and “provide that the defendant shall have the right to present an alternative sentencing plan and a family impact statement to the court.”
Furthermore, the bill outlines that, “in issuing an alternative sentence, the court may require the defendant to participate in programs and services that support the parent-child relationship,” and “provide that the court may modify or revoke the alternative sentence and commit the defendant to an institution if the defendant fails to adhere to or complete the conditions of an alternative sentence.”
“This is the same as HB 291 from last year, which unanimously passed the House,” said Wilson, who was the primary sponsor of that bill as well. “It didn’t get a hearing in a Senate committee, so it passed through one chamber and died.”
Wilson also explained that there is a companion bill that is currently making its way through the Senate. SB 122 is being sponsored by 36th District Senator Julie Raque Adams (R) and 21st District Senator Brandon Storm (R). It was recently reported favorably by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
When asked to break down what the Family Preservation and Accountability Act would look like in practice, Wilson said, “What the bill does is have the circuit judge, at felony sentencing, consider if the defendant is a caretaker of a dependent child. When judges are sentencing in circuit court, they already consider lots of factors, and I just want to put the family unit at the forefront.”
“I’m not saying that judges don’t consider that already,” Wilson continued. “But what I would like to see is it becoming a larger consideration, and there being things like parenting classes and family counseling – that type of rehabilitation as well as the types that we have now.”
In essence, the proposed legislation is asking judges to make special considerations in certain instances, and should the situation fit certain criteria, it would open the door to the possibility for access to different types of rehab programs in place of simply being incarcerated for a particular amount of time.
“The main thing that inspires me on this is that we have seen so much success with specialty courts, like drug court,” Wilson said. “We have seen a lot of success with rehab and probation, and there has been a lot of success statewide with job training and seeking educational opportunities for people who are convicted. That gives me hope that taking a similar type of approach with the family unit in mind could lead to success on that front.”
“Parenting is extremely hard,” Wilson added. “I have a two-year-old and a one-year-old right now, and it’s not easy. And I don’t suffer from addiction. I have spoken a lot about the damage that the opioid epidemic has caused in our Appalachian communities. [It] has been detrimental to the familial structure, and that is because of the people who are in addiction. Kids are being raised by grandparents or other family members, or they are going into foster care, and I just want to do whatever I can to see that stop. I want to see parents be good parents.”
Wilson said that some critics of the legislation feel that it would allow offenders who should be behind bars to avoid serving jail time. In response to this, he said that access to alternate rehabilitation programs would only be made available to certain types of felony offenses. Specifically, he said that individuals who have been convicted of more serious offenses would not be eligible, adding, “This is going to apply to parents who are probably already receiving a probation sentence, but it will help to offer more services. It’s not about getting people out of prison. It’s about making probation more impactful.”
In the end, Wilson said it would still be up to the judges to decide. “It will allow judges to use their discretion to give a parent a chance at fighting for their life, and fighting to get their kids back,” he said. “The hope is that these programs will become more available with the passage of this law. It is not forcing a judge to give someone probation, but hopefully, by putting such a focus on the family unit, it will lead to more awareness and help them to make that decision.
“In the real world, it would practically help a lot of people and hopefully help save a lot of families,” Wilson added. “There is some backlash on it, but I think that it’s worth fighting for.”
