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About Tara Grieshop-Goodwin

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So far Tara Grieshop-Goodwin has created 64 blog entries.

REDEEM Act Provides Opportunity for a Second Chance

A bipartisan bill was filed in Congress last month that is good for kids and even has the potential to reduce poverty. Sounds too good to be true, but it happened. Kentucky’s own Senator Rand Paul filed The Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment (REDEEM) Act with Democratic co-sponsor Senator Cory Booker. The bill makes changes to both the adult and youth justice systems that essentially allow people to move on with their lives and have a better shot [...]

By |2014-08-07T09:52:15-04:00August 7th, 2014|Blog, Economic Security, Youth Justice|
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Ice Cream, Fresh Tomatoes and New Laws

It is July in Kentucky, and the frenzy of the legislative session is only a distant memory as summer staples like trips to grandma’s house, ice cream and fresh tomatoes from the garden fill our attention. Yet, July 15th brought reason to shift our attention momentarily back to the legislative session and celebrate the progress made. On that day, legislation took effect, including a number of substantive wins achieved in the 2014 legislative session for Kentucky children. As of July 15th, doctors who regularly treat children are required to receive training on [...]

By |2014-07-29T14:26:49-04:00July 29th, 2014|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|
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Help Determine 2015 Policy Priorities for the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children

Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Blueprint Steering Committee invite you to give your input on the potential priorities for the 2015 Blueprint for Kentucky's Children agenda. Click here to take the survey. The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a policy initiative created by children’s advocates across the Commonwealth to address the most pressing challenges facing Kentucky children. The Blueprint seeks safe and healthy families, a fair deal for working parents and a fair opportunity for every child [...]

By |2014-07-01T07:46:33-04:00July 1st, 2014|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|
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Youth Voices on Smoke-free Workplaces

Youth bring powerful perspectives to issues facing Kentucky, especially ones that impact them. While adults can sometimes get caught up in politics or other competing interests, youth can often see an issue with more clarity. At a conference recently, I saw a video produced by the Monroe County Youth Prevention Council on secondhand smoke. The research shows us that secondhand smoke has serious health consequences for people exposed to it, especially pregnant women and children [...]

By |2014-06-05T09:16:22-04:00June 5th, 2014|Blog, Health|
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Kentucky Action on Human Trafficking Helping Child Victims

Sometimes the full impact of legislation takes a while to show. With addressing human trafficking, the positive impact for children of the legislation passed in 2013 appeared in the numbers as early as last fall, with the Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) starting to receive reports. Legislation championed by Representatives Sannie Overly, John Tilley, Addia Wuchner and Senator Whitney Westerfield in the 2013 session changed state law to ensure victims of trafficking, especially children exploited in commercial sex, are treated as victims rather than as criminals and are given access to [...]

By |2014-05-13T11:45:01-04:00May 13th, 2014|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Youth Justice|
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Kentucky is on the Right Track with Reforms in Justice Systems

PBS’ Frontline featured Kentucky in a show, Prison State, earlier this week. The reason for the attention came from both a sore spot and a source of pride. On the one hand it came because of “Kentucky uglies” – heavy use of incarceration for adults and jailing kids for things like skipping school. On the other hand national interest was spurred by the work undertaken in Kentucky to set us on a better path in the adult system with reforms championed by Representative John Tilley [...]

By |2014-05-01T15:09:10-04:00May 1st, 2014|Blog, Youth Justice|
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The More We Know, the More Clear the Path Forward

The 2014 legislative session recently wrapped up, and all things considered, it was an excellent session for children. To name a few wins, the actions taken by our legislators and the Governor will result in fewer child deaths due to abuse and neglect, low-income parents able to work while children are cared for safely, and smart use of our juvenile justice system to get kids back on track and create safer communities. Several significant challenges [...]

By |2014-04-23T13:47:35-04:00April 23rd, 2014|Blog, Health|
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Children Won in the 2014 KY General Assembly

The 2014 Kentucky General Assembly wrapped up late last night. The day after, a review of the action taken by legislators in Frankfort this year shows major accomplishments for Kentucky children. Thank you to the many bill sponsors, leaders on budget issues, Governor Beshear, President Stivers, Speaker Stumbo, other members of House and Senate leadership, and all legislators that helped make these accomplishments possible! What do these wins mean? SB 176, sponsored by Senator Denise [...]

By |2014-04-16T14:54:12-04:00April 16th, 2014|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|
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Juvenile Justice Reform is Moving Forward in Kentucky

March 20th UPDATE: SB 200 passed the Kentucky Senate on March 20  - two days after we posted this blog. It now moves to the Kentucky House for consideration. We are excited about the progress of this bill for Kentucky kids and families. Read our full statement about the passage of SB 200 in the Senate here.  A bill has started moving through the legislative process to reform juvenile justice in meaningful ways for kids, [...]

By |2014-03-18T17:14:26-04:00March 18th, 2014|Blog, Youth Justice|
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Juvenile Code Task Force Making Progress on Recommendations

After months of thorough analysis and testimony about the youth justice system in Kentucky, the Juvenile Code Task Force started getting down to the business of identifying possible recommendations this week. The members discussed a number of options to make Kentucky's system work better for kids and for public safety. One of the major strategies was keeping youth from getting involved with the formal court system in the first place if possible. Task Force members [...]

By |2013-11-07T15:58:50-05:00November 7th, 2013|Blog, Youth Justice|
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