Friends and supporters,

First, thank you. Every signature, every share, and every message of support has helped push Jayden’s Law forward and bring the issue of child protection to the forefront in Kentucky.

Recently, SB 138, titled Jayden’s Law, was filed in the Kentucky Senate. This is an important step, and I want to acknowledge that the bill does include several meaningful improvements—such as expanding age protections to children under 18 and creating the offense of child abuse homicide.

However, after carefully reviewing SB 138 as filed, it is clear that several core protections from the original Jayden’s Law proposal were omitted or weakened. While the intent is good, the bill in its current form does not fully prevent the system failures that led to Jayden’s death—and others like it.

What SB 138 Does Not Fully Address
Respectfully, SB 138 still leaves dangerous gaps, including:

Custody loopholes:
SB 138 creates only a rebuttable presumption for termination of parental rights. This means a parent convicted of abusing a child may still argue for custody or visitation in family court.

This is not hypothetical. Right now in Paintsville, Kentucky, a parent charged with criminal abuse of an infant is about to regain joint custody. SB 138 does not prevent this.

No felony “Failure to Protect” offense:
The original Jayden’s Law made it a felony for a parent who knowingly allows abuse to occur. That provision is missing from SB 138.

No aggravated abuse category:
The original proposal created a Class A felony for torture, strangulation, burning, starvation, and patterns of abuse—with violent-offender status and no probation. SB 138 raises penalties, but does not go this far.

No violent-offender or parole safeguards:
SB 138 does not require 85% sentence service for severe child abuse crimes, nor does it limit early release.

No prevention or agency accountability measures:
The original Jayden’s Law did not create a new agency. Instead, it required existing agencies to share information, flag patterns of abuse, and act before a child is killed. Those preventive measures are not included in SB 138.

What I’ve Done Next
Last night and again today, I reached out directly to Senator Brandon Smith and Senator Scott Madon, respectfully outlining these concerns and formally proposing amendments to restore the missing protections. I made it clear that this is not about criticism, but about making sure a bill that bears Jayden’s name truly protects children in practice—not just in theory.

Why This Petition Still Matters
Jayden’s Law was never meant to be symbolic. It was meant to:

Ensure children are never returned to their abusers

Hold all responsible adults accountable

Close family-court loopholes

Require action before tragedy occurs, not just punishment after

While no law can prevent every act of abuse or murder, we owe it to Jayden—and to every child in Kentucky—to make sure our laws do everything possible to prevent the next one.

What You Can Do Now
Keep sharing this petition

Stay engaged as amendments are considered

Contact your legislators and respectfully ask them to support strengthening SB 138

Your voices are being heard. This conversation is happening because of you.

Thank you for standing up for Kentucky’s children.

— Joe Clark