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Good News! Pandemic-EBT Benefits Have Been Extended

February 26, 2021 update: find the latest P-EBT information in this post. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, food security continues to be a top priority for many Kentucky families. Last school year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved Pandemic-EBT to allow families of Kentucky students to receive money for groceries to replace meals missed at school due to distance learning during the pandemic. The USDA has now approved Kentucky to provide Pandemic-EBT to students [...]

By |2021-02-26T16:00:25-05:00September 28th, 2020|Blog, Education, Health|
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Kentucky Child Health Insurance Coverage Remained Virtually Unchanged from 2018 to 2019

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Kentucky Child Health Insurance Coverage Remained Virtually Unchanged from 2018 to 2019 Impact of Pandemic on Children’s Coverage Unknown Until Next Year Louisville, KY – New health insurance data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the percent of Kentucky children under 19 with health coverage was 96.2 percent in 2019 (not statistically different from 2018). When disaggregated by race/ethnicity, the data reveal stark disparities in health coverage [...]

By |2020-09-17T17:56:41-04:00September 17th, 2020|Health, Medicaid, News Room, Race Equity|
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Statement on Bill Filing to Enact Paid Family Leave for State Employees

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates The word “unicorn” is more than those one-horned flying horses my granddaughter loves, more than the term applied to start-up tech companies that boomed in 1990s, and more than unicorn quarterback Lamar Jackson – it is anything that is rare and valuable. Today we joined diverse community partners in an announcement about a unicorn of a public policy proposal – [...]

By |2020-09-16T12:03:25-04:00September 16th, 2020|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, News Room|
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Save the Dates: Children’s Advocacy Week at the Capitol February 1st-5th

For 16 years advocates for kids have gathered in Frankfort for Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. On Children’s Advocacy Day, advocates fill the halls of the Capitol and ask their elected officials to step up for Kentucky kids—leading to many policy wins and building awareness of issues facing kids and their families. Children’s Advocacy Day is critical to building a brighter future for Kentucky kids. Amidst COVID-19, the strains on families, communities, and the [...]

By |2020-09-29T13:55:49-04:00September 14th, 2020|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Youth Justice|
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Op-Ed: Kentucky Kids Need Federal Action Now

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal September 3, 2020.  By Terry Brooks, executive director Kentucky Youth Advocates To say that autumn 2020 may bring surprises is the classic understatement. Can you imagine a year ago – or even a few months ago – seeing a September when kids are in front of a screen at home instead of in a classroom at school? Or an October when talk about college football playoffs [...]

By |2020-09-03T13:58:55-04:00September 3rd, 2020|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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Promoting Cessation to End Teen Vaping

In Kentucky, rates of youth cigarette smoking have been decreasing, but the usage of e-cigarettes has surged. The percentage of twelfth grade Kentucky students using e-cigarettes jumped from 12.2% to 26.7% from 2016 to 2018. This upward trend for youth e-cigarette use is being seen by high schools nationwide with 25% of all high school students reporting use of electronic nicotine products in 2019. While teen vaping has increased, new research from JAMA Pediatrics indicates [...]

By |2020-09-03T15:19:26-04:00September 1st, 2020|Blog, Health|
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Federal COVID-19 Relief Updates and Calls To Action

Updated September 16, 2020 Tumbleweeds seem to be blowing around the halls of Congress these days as families continue to struggle to feed their children, pay their rent, care for their children, and work to overcome the challenges of life during COVID-19. For a brief moment it seemed like politics would be put aside in favor of doing what is best for kids and families. But the spectacular leadership of our representatives in Washington seen [...]

By |2020-09-16T09:28:42-04:00August 31st, 2020|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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Making Kids Count in the 2020 Election!

There are no shortage of concerns on the minds of Kentuckians as we prepare to vote this November. This will be a consequential election. The local, state, and federal leaders we select will determine policy that will impact our daily lives for what may be generations to come. But how often do we pause to consider--specifically--how our choices at the ballot box will impact us, and particularly young children who depend on us to make [...]

By |2020-10-22T15:04:04-04:00August 26th, 2020|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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The Impact of Parental Incarceration on Kentucky Kids & What You Can Do About It

By Judi Jennings, Ph.D. The National Survey of Children’s Health shows Kentucky ranks 3rd highest in the nation (at 12%) of children experiencing parental incarceration. Only Oklahoma and New Mexico rank higher, reflecting the underlying connections between incarceration and systemic poverty. Louisville Family Justice Advocates (LFJA) recently co-led an Urban/Rural Learning Exchange, including a focus on parental incarceration, with two amazing allies: Dreama Gentry, Partners for Education at Berea College and Hasan Davis. Davis is [...]

By |2020-08-26T09:44:56-04:00August 18th, 2020|Blog, Health, Justice, Race Equity|
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Looking for Child Care? Make Sure It’s Good for Your Kids.

This week, Governor Beshear announced a request to school districts to delay opening for in-person classes until the end of September. While many of us are accustomed to uncertainty these days, it put a new urgency on many parents to figure out viable child care options. Many families were anticipating schools reopening as an opportunity for kids to get the social interaction and educational support they have been missing for months on end, but let’s [...]

By |2020-08-26T16:51:52-04:00August 13th, 2020|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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