Two bills aim to establish registry for abusers of adults

Identical bills have been filed in the House and Senate to establish a state registry of people who have abused or neglected adults.

Senate Bill 38, sponsored by Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville, left, and House Bill 101, filed by Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington, right, have advance in their respective committees.

The Courier-Journal's Deborah Yetter, who wrote a series of stories that examined elder abuse in December, reports that advocates including the Council on Developmental Disabilities are working to advance the bill. Council officials feel "a registry would help protect disabled or elderly adults by giving potential employers a place to check the backgrounds of people they hire to provide personal care at home such as housekeeping or bathing or grooming," Yetter reports.

Some state officials have expressed concerns about the cost of such a registry. (Read more)