About Mahak Kalra

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So far Mahak Kalra has created 62 blog entries.

Implementation of 2021 Wins for Kids

Many of you joined us in advocating for the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy and budget priorities through virtual meetings, calling, or emailing your legislators, attended Children’s Advocacy Week, and so much more throughout the 2021 legislative session. Your critical efforts paid off with legislative wins for children and positive investments in the state budget. These new laws went into effect June 29th and the new state budget will take effect July 1st. Blueprint [...]

COVID-19 Vaccinations & Kentucky Kids

Updated June 20, 2022 We've made a big step towards ending the pandemic with vaccines now available to protect adults and youth against COVID-19, now including young children. Kentucky's approximately one million kids look forward to the day when they can more safely spend time with friends, travel with their families, attend school in person, and enjoy their communities. To protect children from COVID-19 and potential variants, the American Academy of Pediatrics provided a checklist for parents and caregivers [...]

By |2022-06-20T09:37:37-04:00June 23rd, 2021|Blog, Health, Medicaid, Race Equity|

Health Coverage Update for Families

Among the provisions in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to provide COVID-19 relief is reduced-cost health care coverage for uninsured and current enrollees of the federal health insurance marketplace. Research explicitly tells us that there is a link between parent’s coverage and their children’s coverage, which means as more parents receive coverage and care, so will their kids. An estimated 7,100 Kentuckians with income below 150% of the federal poverty level are newly [...]

By |2021-06-09T09:22:14-04:00June 9th, 2021|Blog, Health, Medicaid|

The Child Tax Credit of 2021: What You Need to Know

Image courtesy of AECF Among the provisions in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to provide COVID-19 relief is an expanded version of the Child Tax Credit. Approximately 1.1 million Kentucky children and their families will be eligible for the one-year expanded tax credit. This includes low-income families who have not historically made enough or have no income at all will be eligible. The program will begin starting in July, [...]

By |2021-06-23T13:33:31-04:00May 5th, 2021|Blog, Economic Security|

Thank You: Wins for Kids in the 2021 General Assembly

The final gavel sounded on the 2021 General Assembly this week! This year, the Governor and the Kentucky General Assembly were tasked with crafting a continuation budget, addressing the systemic injustices that impact our children and families of color, advancing policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and other policy priorities that would be good for the communities they represent and the Commonwealth. If we take a second to reflect, that’s a heavy lift in a [...]

2021 Bills to Watch that Seek to Advance Race Equity for Kids

As our commonwealth works to overcome the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and systemic racism, Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children have a common vision of a brighter future for every Kentucky kid and their family. We are counting on legislative leaders to prioritize policies that advance race equity and address systemic racism in the current and future legislative sessions. We previously shared our commitment to ensure all policies within the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda [...]

2021 State Budget Update and Call to Action

The legislature has been in session since January 5th and during this time the Governor has shared his budget proposal and the Kentucky House of Representatives filed a continuation version of the budget to expedite the process within this short legislative session. A continuation budget is exactly what it sounds like – how can we maintain, or continue, the state budget that was developed in 2020 into 2021. The Kentucky House and Senate have both [...]

The 2021 Kentucky General Assembly is Underway!

The 2021 General Assembly is underway! With Part 1 of the legislative session under our belt, many child advocates, partners, and citizens across the Commonwealth experienced a glimpse of a revised schedule, new safety measures in place, flow of committee and chamber meetings, continued budget proposal, and, of course, new legislators. With so many new and moving pieces it can be daunting to keep track, which is why we’ve drafted a quick reference for advocates! [...]

#BeThe1To

As National Suicide Prevention Month wraps up, we believe it’s important to discuss prevention efforts for children, teens, and young adults throughout the year. One way we’re committed to doing just that is through ongoing advocacy that emphasizes the mental health needs of Kentucky youth. The School Safety and Resiliency Act of 2019 (SB 1), developed in response to the tragic 2018 Marshall County High School shooting, ensures all students are able to learn in a [...]

By |2019-09-30T17:59:41-04:00September 30th, 2019|Blog, Education, Health|

Free Care: What Is It and How Will It Address Student Health Needs?

Updated December 19, 2019 This school year local school districts will have the opportunity to expand health and behavioral health services already offered to students in schools by leveraging federal Medicaid dollars. In November of 2019, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) and federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced final approval to move forward with this opportunity. By expanding health services to all students and billing services for Medicaid-eligible students, [...]

By |2020-01-30T12:24:27-05:00August 22nd, 2019|Blog, Education, Health|
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