Jeffersontown, KY – The Beshear administration is currently in the process of implementing a managed care system to deliver health services to Kentuckians enrolled in Medicaid and KCHIP with the intent to both improve health outcomes and achieve cost savings.  As the state makes such a significant shift in service delivery it is critical to consider the potential impact on over 430,000 children who are served by Medicaid and KCHIP in Kentucky.  Kentucky Youth Advocates [...]

Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates “The Request for Proposals for Medicaid Managed Care Organizations was released today and we are pleased to see the document requires specific considerations for children, including children in foster care, school based services, newborns, and children with special health care needs. As the Commonwealth takes steps towards expanding Medicaid managed care in Kentucky and begins to review proposals, it is crucial that we not only look [...]

Promising Practices Apparent, but Sustainability and Budgets a Concern Jeffersontown, KY – As schools across the Commonwealth, and the country, wrestle to improve test scores and other accountability measures, there is a growing awareness about the impact that factors such as children’s health and wellness have on school performance. Many districts in Kentucky have recognized this in recent years and intervened by providing school health services to meet students’ health needs at school. Until now, [...]

Jeffersontown, KY – As schools across the Commonwealth, and the country, wrestle to improve test scores and other accountability measures, there is a growing awareness about the impact that factors such as children’s health and wellness have on school performance. Many districts in Kentucky have recognized this in recent years and intervened by providing school health services to meet students’ health needs at school. Until now, however, detailed information on school health services offered in [...]

More Work Needs to be done to Ensure That Across-the-Board Cuts Do not Happen   Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates   In what can only be described as head-scratching maneuvering from all sides, Governor Beshear faces important decisions around the state’s Medicaid budget. As the Governor considers the legislation handed him by the House and Senate, we urge him to: Take the fiscal actions required in moving $166.5 million from the FY [...]

 Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates At a time when legislators are fighting yet another budget battle and taxpayers are paying more attention to the use of their tax dollars, HJR 5 takes a solid step toward making sure tax breaks are doing what they are intended to do. HJR 5, a bill relating to Economic Development Incentive Programs, directs the Legislative Research Commission to engage a consulting firm to study the [...]

Tells Congress Best Approach to Reducing the Federal Deficit is to Protect Vulnerable Families, Promote Economic Recovery Jeffersontown, KY – At a time when over 208,000 Kentuckians are out of work, the U.S. House of Representatives’ approach to the federal budget fails the children and families who are struggling most with the recession, according to a new report by the Coalition on Human Needs for the SAVE for All campaign. The report draws a sharp [...]

In a major effort to tap and foster state capital ingenuity, the Urban Institute has selected Kentucky as one of nine states to receive $250,000 each in planning grants as part of a five-year initiative with lead funding from the Ford Foundation. Kentucky, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina were chosen for first-year grants to test innovative ways to streamline services for low-income working families. Terry Brooks, Executive [...]

Jeffersontown, KY – More than 1,000 Kentuckians from across the Commonwealth are registered to attend Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Frankfort today. They will urge legislators to make Kentucky’s children a priority when making decisions this session and support priorities on the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a common agenda for child advocates across the state. “The Blueprint was created as a response to legislators who asked child advocates to come together around a [...]

Jeffersontown, KY – In a major effort to tap and foster state capital ingenuity, the Urban Institute has selected Kentucky as one of nine states to receive $250,000 each in planning grants as part of a five-year initiative with lead funding from the Ford Foundation.  Kentucky, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina were chosen for first-year grants to test innovative ways to streamline services for low-income working families. [...]