KY HB914

Social service workers must wear body-worn cameras during home visits, child interviews outside schools, and court-ordered removals; recordings preserved for 5 years with access provided to courts and parents; failure to record creates rebuttable presumption favoring parent's account

Parents may sue cabinet employees who knowingly submit false statements, withhold exculpatory evidence, or violate constitutional rights; qualified immunity defenses eliminated and attorney's fees awarded to prevailing plaintiffs

Emergency custody orders and temporary removals now require clear and convincing evidence (raised from preponderance); temporary removal hearings reduced from 72 to 24 hours; appeals of removal orders must be heard within 24 hours

Establishes Family Preservation Fund in State Treasury for substance abuse treatment, parental education, housing stabilization, mental health services, and domestic violence intervention; funds carry forward without lapsing

Requires cabinet to submit annual report to legislature on number of children removed and social worker caseloads; mandates written explanation when children are not placed with relatives or fictive kin