LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Secretary of State Michael Adams wants to keep growing Kentucky's Safe At Home program, which helps domestic violence survivors keep their addresses confidential on state records. This prevents abusers from tracking down their locations.
"Unfortunately, Kentucky is at the top of our country when it comes to domestic abuse," Adams said.
Adams spoke at the National Association of Confidential Address Programs Conference in Lexington on Tuesday, highlighting how state records and voter rolls can endanger domestic violence survivors by revealing their addresses.
"If someone had to flee domestic violence and find a new place to live, the stalker - or abuser - could easily find out where she was," Adams said.
Kentucky has technically had a address confidentiality program since 2013, but Adams said it was neglected before his administration took over. In 2023, he worked with the legislature to create the Safe At Home program.
"When I inherited the program in 2020, it only had 10 people in it, out of a state of 4.5 million people. And we're number one in the country for domestic abuse and we only had ten people in it," Adams said.
The Safe At Home program now keeps several hundred people's addresses secret on voter rolls and other state and local government documents. Kentucky has also streamlined the enrollment process to make it more accessible.
"We've also gotten rid of the requirement to need a protective order from a judge because if you're being abused, the last thing you want to do is face that person in the courtroom and hire an attorney to deal with it," Adams said.
State reports show domestic violence remains a significant problem in Kentucky, with more than 32,000 domestic violence incidents recorded across the state in 2023. Adams said officials plan to continue expanding the program to reach more survivors.
