Thursday, May 9, is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is this Thursday, May 9. Organizations throughout the country are planning events to raise awareness about the importance of children's mental health and that positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development from birth. Over 12 percent of children ages 2-17 in Kentucky are taking medication for ADHD, emotions, concentration or behavioral issues, compared to almost 8 percent of children ages 2-17 nationwide, according to parent responses [...]

By |2013-05-07T10:00:02-04:00May 7th, 2013|Blog, Health|

Remember the Benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit on this Tax Day

For the last few months, I've been volunteering as a tax preparer with the Louisville Asset Building Coalition, helping individuals and families who earn less than $50,000 prepare their taxes.  I’ve seen young students filing and single, working moms who are simultaneously raising children and going to school file taxes. I’ve heard stories about individuals falling on hard times in the last few years, and met one person who was working his way out of homelessness. As families across the state and [...]

By |2013-04-15T13:09:25-04:00April 15th, 2013|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|

Medicaid Expansion in Kentucky: Kids Have Much to Gain

At Kentucky Youth Advocates, we ask ourselves the same question over and over when we examine issues. It’s a short and simple question: “Is it good for kids?” We strive to be the independent voice for children and that means we want the policies created and implemented by our decision makers to benefit children. Right now, our state leaders have a big decision to make on whether to expand Medicaid to low-income adults and parents [...]

By |2013-03-28T10:04:39-04:00March 28th, 2013|Blog, Health|

New Brief Shows Kentucky Children Would Benefit from Medicaid Expansion

Jeffersontown, KY – Thousands of children could see immediate and long-term health benefits, at a small cost to the state, if Kentucky expands Medicaid to adults up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line starting in January 2014, according to a new issue brief from Kentucky Youth Advocates. The brief, Medicaid Expansion in Kentucky: Kids Have Much to Gain, examines the numerous family and child health benefits that result when parents have access to [...]

By |2013-03-28T00:00:35-04:00March 28th, 2013|News Room|

We Can do Better When it Comes to Children’s Health in Kentucky

In the middle of the day Monday, I received an email from my husband. The subject line was “say waaa?” with a link to this story:  “Survey: Ky. kids healthier than US average.” First, it is sad that someone’s first reaction to hearing that Kentucky kids are healthier than the average American kid is disbelief. Certainly we can do better as a state to both improve children’s health and improve the perceptions of children’s health. [...]

By |2013-03-27T13:46:29-04:00March 27th, 2013|Blog, Health|

Shaping Kentucky’s Future: A Community Guide to Reducing Obesity

In the New Year, many individuals commit to turning over a new leaf. You’ll hear stories of resolutions to begin healthy habits this year almost anywhere. Ads for gym memberships and healthy foods are all over the newspaper ads and radio stations. We become obsessed with trying to incorporate healthy living into our daily routines. Kentucky’s health data is staggering: over 66% of adults are overweight and more than 31% are obese. Our state also ranks [...]

By |2013-01-17T10:00:23-05:00January 17th, 2013|Blog, Health|

Secret Shopper: Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my experience as a secret shopper by calling the Kentucky Medicaid Hotline. That experience did not turn out well as the automated message was not correct and I had to wait several minutes before I was able to talk to a real person. My overall grade for that experience was a C-. Since that experience I learned that there may have been outstanding circumstances which played into the high [...]

By |2012-12-13T11:25:13-05:00December 13th, 2012|Blog, Health|
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