US EditionKentucky AG announces changes to help support child sexual abuse survivors
The revised framework expands medical and team-based guidance as Kentucky child advocacy centers reviewed nearly 7,800 cases, officials said.
- In Frankfort on Wednesday, Attorney General Russell Coleman unveiled the updated Kentucky Model Protocol, the first mandatory revision since 2021 for local multidisciplinary teams investigating child sexual abuse.
- Between July 2024 and 2025, Kentucky Child Advocacy Centers reviewed nearly 7,800 new cases of child sexual abuse, marking a 29% increase from the previous year.
- The protocol mandates multidisciplinary team coordination so child survivors avoid repeating their stories. "We create a coordinated response that supports both healing and accountability," said Joelle Hirst, manager of the Norton Children's Pediatric Forensic Nurse Examiner Program.
- State leaders will roll out training across all 120 Kentucky counties in the coming months. Laura Kretzer, chair of the Kentucky Multidisciplinary Commission, said the protocol will help professionals serve abused children.
- Focusing on systemic improvement, officials emphasized the initiative addresses future prevention rather than past failures. "It's not about looking back and only looking back, it's about what we choose to do moving forward as a state," Hirst added.
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The Advocate-Messenger
Kentucky updates child abuse response protocol for 2026
FRANKFORT – Attorney General Russell Coleman joined Kentucky prosecutors, law enforcement, advocates and medical professionals to release an updated framework for the collaborative response to child sexual abuse. The Kentucky Multidisciplinary Commission on Child Sexual Abuse unveiled its Kentucky Model Protocol for Local Multidisciplinary Teams 2026, marking the first time the Protocol had been updated since 2021. Following feedback from those …
Kentucky introduces modernized blueprint to speed up child sexual abuse investigations and prosecutions
Kentucky has introduced new guidance to speed up the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases across the commonwealth.Attorney General Russell Coleman announced the updated framework, which is being implemented in training sessions statewide. The guidance was revised for the first time since 2021."It is a blueprint for mitigating the harm that these children have faced and will face. It's about collaborating," Coleman said.The p…
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