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Kentucky’s Juvenile Justice Reforms: Shifting from Implementation to Integration and Collaboration

Kentucky’s juvenile justice reforms have reached their first year of full implementation and we are seeing positive results in making sure the state’s response matches what youth need to keep them from committing future offenses. Now with implementation well underway, the state agencies can work on ensuring implementation is meeting the standards of SB 200’s requirements for all youth in Kentucky. An analysis by the interim Commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) presented [...]

By |2016-07-06T13:26:00-04:00July 6th, 2016|Blog, Youth Justice|
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Kentucky Kids Need Your “WHYs?” and “WHAT IFs?”

This week, the New York Times featured an article from Warren Berger, the author of the wonderful book "A More Beautiful Question." Berger reminded organizations of the power of asking, “Why?” and “What If?” Two weeks ago you read about the data side of the recently released 2016 National Kids Count Data Book. This week I’d like to apply Berger’s interrogatives to that data. WHY does child poverty get ignored in the political chatter in Frankfort? And [...]

By |2016-07-05T18:04:00-04:00July 5th, 2016|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Kids Count|
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Fireworks Safety Tips for the Holiday Weekend

This month we've published a number of tips as part of National Safety Month. We've made a checklist for kids to have a healthy and safe summer break and listed tips for water and traffic safety. As we approach the Fourth of July holiday weekend, it's important to remember to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and practice water and vehicle safety, as well as to review tips to stay safe around fireworks. The following list of fireworks safety tips was [...]

By |2016-06-29T15:28:40-04:00June 29th, 2016|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Proposal to Transform Kentucky’s Medicaid Program: Is It Good for Kids?

We at Kentucky Youth Advocates are asking, "Is it good for kids?" while trying to understand the proposal by the Bevin Administration to transform Kentucky's Medicaid program. From our perspective, we see some positives but also have some concerns. Children and pregnant women are protected from the potential negative impacts that premiums and reduced benefit packages could have, and we thank Governor Bevin for considering those vulnerable Kentuckians. But we are concerned with the impact [...]

By |2016-06-23T17:46:58-04:00June 23rd, 2016|Blog, Economic Security, Health|
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Tips to Remember Beyond National Safety Month

It could never happen to me. It could never happen to my family. It could never happen to my kids. So many times, we recite these lines in our head, even subconsciously. That is, until it does happen to you, your kids, or your family. We take for granted many things that we think our loved ones will simply “do” in order to keep themselves safe. With June being National Safety Month, it’s time to [...]

By |2016-06-22T21:38:56-04:00June 22nd, 2016|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|
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The 2016 National KIDS COUNT Data Book: Is Kentucky Top Dog or Rock-bottom?

This week, we co-released with the Annie E. Casey Foundation the national 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book. We get pretty excited about this release because the Data Book provides the best assessment of how Kentucky’s children and youth are faring in comparison to those across the nation. Let’s face it, we live in a very competitive state – think basketball and horse racing – so we eagerly await the Data Book to see if Kentucky [...]

By |2016-06-21T16:58:16-04:00June 21st, 2016|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Kids Count|
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Congratulations, You Are Not College or Career Ready!

It has been a few weeks now since my youngest sister’s high school graduation ceremony, giving me time to reflect on the event and its repercussions. The evening started off pleasant, catching up with former teachers and running into former classmates there to celebrate their younger siblings. The night got interesting, however, after the ceremony began and students lined up to walk across the stage to receive their diploma. My last name is mid-alphabet so [...]

By |2016-06-20T15:36:37-04:00June 20th, 2016|Blog, Education|
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All Youth Deserve Opportunities to Thrive

Last week marked a seminal moment for Kentucky at the System of Care conference. Kentucky leaders tackled head on a challenge that has been facing Kentucky for years – disparities by race in outcomes for children. We’ve known for some time that racial disparities exist for kids in Kentucky. While the issue cannot be solved in one conference, beginning a broader dialogue about the issue represents a milestone along the path to ending disparate outcomes [...]

By |2016-06-15T17:14:19-04:00June 15th, 2016|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Youth Justice|
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A Checklist for a Healthy and Safe Summer Break

There’s a piece of me that continues to be jealous of my teenagers’ summer break. We have embarked upon our third week of summer, and the idealistic images I had of what their summers days would include while I’m at work have already dissipated. My rough survey of a few teens in my children’s “circle” led me to these top three “activities” on their daily to-do list: They want to sleep – a LOT. Apparently [...]

By |2016-06-13T09:20:51-04:00June 13th, 2016|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|
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Send in Photos of Your Kentucky Kids

Kentucky Youth Advocates is looking for photos of Kentucky kids to include in the 2016 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book and other Kentucky Youth Advocates publications. We know you all proudly share pictures of your kids and grandkids by carrying them in your wallet and posting them on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s a great chance to promote those great kids through Kentucky Youth Advocates’ materials. We need your photos by August 31st so please start sending them in. In order to [...]

By |2016-06-08T15:44:26-04:00June 8th, 2016|Blog, Kids Count|
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