Hamburgers, ice cream, hot dogs... summer is packed with kids' favorite foods. Whether they are at summer camp, the ballpark, or a family cookout, kids will be surrounded by these delicious, yet not so healthy, foods. So how can you ensure that the kids in your life are eating a healthy diet this summer? Below are some nutrition tips for summer from the US Department of Agriculture. You can view these tips and more on [...]
Guest blog by Elizabeth Roney The DentaQuest Foundation held a south/southeast regional oral health convening in Nashville from May 21st through the 23rd. Professionals ranging from dentists to advocates from 13 southern states connected to create a regional network, discuss how to build an oral health movement and work together to align goals with the Oral Health 2020 vision. Nashville’s laid-back feel and the unconventional meeting facilitation methods allowed a student, like myself, to confidently [...]
All children need basic necessities, such as food and clothing, and child support payments provide a critical means for custodial parents to meet these needs. Child support payments are an important resource for many families and contribute to family self-sufficiency and economic stability. For many low-income families headed by a single parent, these payments serve as a survival tool to make ends meet. Research strongly suggests that child support improves numerous aspects of child well-being. [...]
Open enrollment for traditional Medicaid (not Medicaid expansion) is occurring now through June 18. If you and/or your children have traditional Medicaid health insurance or KCHIP, you can change Medicaid managed care plans during this open enrollment period. If you work with Medicaid members, please let them know about this open enrollment period. Members do not have to switch plans if they don't want to. Open enrollment applies to all regions of the state except Region [...]
An annual report, The State of Preschool 2013; State Preschool Yearbook, released by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) was released last week. The report includes national trends, data tables, and state-by-state information on the current status of state-funded prekindergarten programs, including standards for quality, access, and changes to programs in the last year. The report covers 40 states that currently have state-funded preschool programs as well as ten states and the U.S. territories which do not provide state-funded prekindergarten. Research tells us [...]
Picture source: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/promote/graphics.cfm All children deserve a nurturing and stable home. There are times when parents are unable to provide a safe environment for their children, so children can no longer remain with their parents. Ideally, a family member or foster parent will be capable of providing a safe place, temporarily, or in some cases permanently, for those children. There are some times, when circumstances do not allow for children to be placed in foster care, and they [...]
Reminder - If you'd like to submit pictures of your kids or grandkids to be considered for the 2014 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book and other Kentucky Youth Advocates' publications, we need your photos by May 31. We know you 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. Please submit [...]
The Earned Income Credit has grown to become the nation’s most successful anti-poverty program since its creation in 1975. The federal Earned Income Credit is the nation’s single most effective tool for reducing poverty among working families and children. In 2012, the Earned Income Credit lifted more than 6 million people across the nation out of poverty, over half of them children. In 2012, the federal credit benefitted more than 410,000 Kentuckians – almost 25% of tax filers –and put more than $912 million [...]
Last week, I wrote about Dr. Diane Ravitch, the noted national school reformer who recently was in Kentucky as the recipient of the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award. I wrote about admiring Dr. Ravitch as a person of considerable intellect and even more courage because she has the ethics to change course on major issues. In last week’s blog, I talked about high stakes accountability, where I could not agree with Dr. Ravitch more fully. This week – I want to offer a differing point of [...]
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 [...]
