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The House unanimously passed a Louisville Democrat’s bill aimed at enabling more Kentuckians to become foster parents.

The Monday move means Senate Bill 240, sponsored by Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, is nearly law. It heads now to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk for a signature or veto. 

The bill will allow foster parents in Kentucky to qualify for child care benefits while working outside the home or working remotely in the home. Currently they must work 20 hours a week outside the home to qualify for assistance.  

The clarification that remote work is acceptable work for these benefits is “a small but needed change that will make it easier for more people to become foster parents as they work remotely,” said Rep. Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield, who brought the bill to the House floor. 

Kentucky needs more families to foster. More children were in foster care from 2020-2022 than 2015-2017, the Lantern previously reported. 

A 2023 KIDS COUNT County Data Book, part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, showed there were 50,947 children in foster care in Kentucky between 2020 and 2022.