Do we run systems for children from an adult orientation or a kid’s perspective?  That is this week’s big picture question in thinking about Kentucky’s kids during their first eight years of life. We have been writing for the last couple of weeks about a recent report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for a Lifetime of Success, which was co-released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) and Kentucky Youth Advocates on [...]

Last week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates co-released a new KIDS COUNT policy report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success. Part I in this blog series on the report was posted last week and highlighted one important aspect of the report—the impact of poverty on young children. And now for Part 2 in this series, the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the first eight years. Adverse [...]

The KIDS COUNT policy report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success, was co-released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates. We release a lot of reports, as does Casey – I know that.  But this one made me think as deeply as any “report card” styled brief that I have read in a long time.  The report builds a strong case for investing in quality early [...]

I am a fan of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s approach to decision-making for our kids’ future. He has quietly and persistently introduced a culture in which data and good research are driving systems change.  While his approach may not always be filled with confetti and pep rallies in City Hall, it is a profound one that gets results. Early in his administration, Kentucky Youth Advocates released its annual Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book, in [...]