Mara Powell, Author at Kentucky Youth Advocates

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 1 Passing Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, the Kentucky Senate took decisive action to fundamentally reform Kentucky’s adoption and foster care system, protecting kids and ensuring families are safe and supported, with passage of House Bill 1. If there is an arena that historically has been marked by more rhetoric than action, it is around the child welfare system. HB 1 will fundamentally change [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-04-02T17:17:39-04:00April 2nd, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 527 Passing Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Kids win when their best interests are prioritized—and our leaders in Frankfort have exemplified just that with their overwhelming and bipartisan support of House Bill 527, championed by Representative Steve Riley. We applaud the Kentucky Senate for unanimously supporting HB 527 and Senator Dan Seum for his leadership on this issue, which promotes the educational stability of children [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-29T17:01:10-04:00March 29th, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, Education, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on SB 137 Passing Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Children rely on the adults in their lives to keep them safe. A bill to allow information that a child shares with a trustworthy adult to be considered for testimony in court moved one step closer to being signed into law today with its passage in the full Kentucky House. We applaud the Kentucky House for their continued [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-29T11:00:09-04:00March 29th, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on SB 133 Passing Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates All children deserve a strong start in life, and Senate Bill 133, championed by Senator Julie Raque Adams, makes the health of Kentucky kids a priority even before birth. We applaud the Kentucky House for prioritizing the future health, safety, and overall well-being of the unborn children affected by substance use by supporting pregnant inmates seeking treatment with [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-29T10:51:59-04:00March 29th, 2018|Health, Justice, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on SB 137 Passing House Judiciary Committee

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates When adults are held accountable in the court system, we keep kids safer now from abuse and prevent future abuse from occurring. We applaud the House Judiciary Committee for passing Senate Bill 137, which addresses abuse and protects future victims by giving judges the option to allow testimony from a trustworthy adult to whom a child has disclosed [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-22T11:30:13-04:00March 22nd, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on SB 133 Passing House Judiciary Committee

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Three out of five inmates in Kentucky have children, including 71% of women in custody, and we cannot think about parental incarceration without acknowledging the shared sentence it has on so many children. We applaud Senator Julie Raque Adams for championing Senate Bill 133, which takes strong steps to improve outcomes of pregnant inmates and their babies and [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-21T13:21:38-04:00March 21st, 2018|Justice, News Room|

Kick Butts Day: Ending Teen Tobacco Use

Kick Butts Day: Ending Teen Tobacco Use

Today, youth, teachers, and advocates across the nation are standing up and speaking out for Kick Butts Day to raise awareness of the problems created by tobacco use in their community, to encourage youth to be tobacco-free, and to urge elected officials to protect kids from tobacco. Kentucky has the second highest rate of high school smokers in the nation at approximately 17%, and 2,900 Kentucky kids become new daily smokers each year. One proven [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-21T11:51:46-04:00March 21st, 2018|Blog, Health|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 527 Passing Senate Health & Welfare Committee

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the Senate Health and Welfare Committee for unanimously passing HB 527, which prioritizes the educational stability of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. A child’s removal from his or her home can be traumatic and we commend Representative Steve Riley, Chair Julie Raque Adams and members of the committee, and the Cabinet for Health and Family [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-21T10:56:09-04:00March 21st, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, Education, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on KY Senate Passage of Executive Branch Budget

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on KY Senate Passage of Executive Branch Budget

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Tough fiscal times demand more than tough decisions. Today, the Kentucky Senate made those tough decisions while passing the amended executive branch budget. Most notably, the Senate affirmed their commitment to Kentucky’s most vulnerable children. We applaud the Senate for maintaining investments in kinship families, as well as supports for children who've been impacted by abuse or neglect. [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-21T09:57:10-04:00March 20th, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, News Room|

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 1 Passing Senate Health & Welfare Committee

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee took action to reform Kentucky’s adoption and foster care system, protecting kids and ensuring families are safe and supported, with passage of HB 1. We applaud co-sponsors Representative David Meade and Representative Joni Jenkins for their diligent work on this measure during the interim to gather input from stakeholders, including youth [...]

By Mara Powell|2018-03-19T13:57:12-04:00March 19th, 2018|Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|

About Mara Powell