This post originally appeared as an Op-Ed in The Courier Journal. You can view it online here. The Sept. 8 Time magazine cover tag line read, "The Answers Issue: Everything You Need to Know," and the contents delivered. In fact, it devoted 51 pages to answering questions that ranged from "When did yawning begin?" to "How many people are required to authorize a U.S. nuclear attack?" Time answered those and dozens of other questions with certitude. [...]
Last week Congress passed The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980) just before leaving Washington for the campaign season. This bi-partisan bill is a substantial victory for children in foster care, kinship care, and those waiting to be adopted. The primary purpose of The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act is to: ensure that children in state’s care or supervision at risk of sex trafficking are identified, protected, and linked to [...]
Last week, new poverty numbers were released for the nation, for Kentucky, and for Kentucky's largest counties. It's difficult to continue to see high numbers of children living in poverty in our state. But, there are solutions out there that can help families become financially secure. Today, our own Dr. Terry Brooks was a guest on The Joe Elliott Show on 970 WGTK AM in Louisville to discuss the new numbers and the solutions Kentucky should implement [...]
Do you recall that ever-familiar roll call at the beginning of every day in every class for twelve years or more in school? It was one of those daily rituals that documented our presence each day. There was an obvious understanding that if you didn’t come to school, you missed-out on learning. But in today’s world of tracking data and results, we now know the impacts of school absenteeism are numerous and far-reaching. September is [...]
Today, new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey confirms that child poverty remains high in Kentucky. Because of larger sample sizes and different methodology, this data is stronger than the Current Population Survey supplemental data released on Tuesday. The American Community Survey data released today revealed that in 2013, 25.3 percent of Kentucky children lived in poverty, compared to 22.2 percent nationwide. This put Kentucky at 40th in the nation for child poverty out of all 50 states and the [...]
Child advocates were disappointed, but not surprised, to see the statistic above. We are also 5th in the nation for adult obesity, according to a new report, The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Advocates have been working tirelessly to reverse the childhood obesity trend in Kentucky – which is why the recent report was disheartening to hear. But several recent childhood obesity efforts that have emerged in Kentucky are encouraging, including: [...]
The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition (KOHC) was recently featured in the July/August 2014 issue of Kentucky Dental Association’s (KDA) magazine, KDA Today. The article, written by KOHC’s own Lacey McNary, focused on the increasing awareness of Kentucky’s oral health needs and the growing energy of stakeholders across the Commonwealth. Governor Steve Beshear’s KyHealthNow goals for improving oral health for Kentuckians and the priorities of KDA and KOHC align—specifically improving oral health awareness, expanding school-based oral health services, and increasing [...]
The implementation of Senate Bill 200, passed during the 2014 session, is underway, and the work reported so far shows great promise for the new law to truly transform the lives of children for the better. After several years of the Unified Juvenile Code Task Force meeting and the many weeks of negotiations as SB 200 moved through the legislative process earlier this year, the courts and state agencies have been working to change practices [...]
On Tuesday, we released the 2014 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book made possible with support from Signature Sponsor Passport Health Plan, Diamond Sponsors Kosair Charities and Delta Dental of Kentucky, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This report provides a picture of the status of children in Kentucky counties based on 16 indicators of child well-being. We hope state and local leaders will use the book to help evaluate what is going well for [...]
Learn more and register on the conference website!
