Blog – Page 155 – Kentucky Youth Advocates

New Year Resolutions for Kentucky Children

Happy New Year! Welcome back to many of you who took time off for holidays and vacations. Beginning a new year often means making (and breaking) resolutions. The 2013 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children outlines nine policy priorities that can serve as resolutions for improving the lives of kids throughout Kentucky. Take a look at the list of priorities – and when making your own resolutions this year, consider how you can make a difference in the lives [...]

By Katie Carter|2013-01-02T11:46:04-05:00January 2nd, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

Restraint and Seclusion Policy Change Approved

Child advocates, students, and parents across the state received good news this week when the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee approved the Kentucky Department of Education’s new restraint and seclusion policy proposal. As we recently discussed, restraints and seclusion can have terrible consequences for Kentucky children. The policy change will enhance school safety for both students and staff by limiting the use of restraint and seclusion, educating teachers on how to safely conduct restraints when absolutely necessary, and [...]

By Tara Grieshop-Goodwin|2012-12-20T11:42:59-05:00December 20th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|

trans-par-ent [trans-pair-uh nt, -par-], adjective

trans·par·ent [trans-pair-uh nt, -par-] , adjective Having the property of transmitting rays of light through its substance so that bodies situated beyond or behind can be distinctly seen. Admitting the passage of light through interstices. So sheer as to permit light to pass through; diaphanous. “Transparency” is the word of the year in the world of child welfare in Kentucky. The word gets tossed around so easily among advocates and others interested in improving the “system”, especially [...]

By Lacey McNary|2012-12-20T11:39:36-05:00December 20th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

The clock is ticking: Kentucky children will be impacted if we fall off fiscal cliff

Our nation is facing an urgent challenge. If Congress does not reach a debt-reduction deal by January 1, 2013, sequestration automatically kicks in. “Sequestration” is an across-the-board cut to most federal programs, including significant cuts to K-12 and early education. As the deadline for reaching an agreement on our nation’s financial direction looms, let’s take a look at how children might be affected by the decisions. For Kentucky, the impact is huge. If Congress fails to extend [...]

By Katie Carter|2012-12-19T11:35:35-05:00December 19th, 2012|Blog, Economic Security|

Blue Ribbon Tax Commission’s recommendations include a state Earned Income Tax Credit

The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform’s final report came out Monday. The Commission’s final recommendations include enacting a state Earned Income Tax Credit. Enacting a state EITC is a proven method to get and keep parents working and raises children out of poverty. The Commissioners had a serious charge – to think about what is best for all of Kentucky now and in the future. This includes ensuring a fair, competitive, adequate system. [...]

By Katie Carter|2012-12-19T11:31:43-05:00December 19th, 2012|Blog, Economic Security|

Secret Shopper: Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my experience as a secret shopper by calling the Kentucky Medicaid Hotline. That experience did not turn out well as the automated message was not correct and I had to wait several minutes before I was able to talk to a real person. My overall grade for that experience was a C-. Since that experience I learned that there may have been outstanding circumstances which played into the high [...]

By Andrea Bennett|2012-12-13T11:25:13-05:00December 13th, 2012|Blog, Health|

It’s Time to Clear the Air

VIDEO: Kentucky - Business Has Never Been Healthier (smoke free) During 2013, the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children will be working to pass a statewide, comprehensive smoke-free law which would prohibit smoking inside all work-sites including restaurants and bars. We are working with the Smoke-Free Kentucky Coalition to CLEAR THE AIR. We all have the right to breathe clean indoor air—workers, families, children, everyone. Currently, about one-third of Kentuckians live in communities with comprehensive smoke-free laws, leaving thousands of children still [...]

By Andrea Bennett|2012-12-12T11:01:02-05:00December 12th, 2012|Blog, Health|

Don’t pull the net out from children

The following post first appeared in A Better Life, a blog for the Courier-Journal about the aftermath of the recession. Over the weekend, New York Times Columnist Nick Kristof caused a bit of a stir with his column “Profiting From a Child’s Illiteracy.” Kristof argues that some families in poverty – specifically families in Breathitt County in eastern Kentucky – keep their children illiterate to ensure they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This is troubling, but [...]

By Katie Carter|2012-12-11T10:30:03-05:00December 11th, 2012|Blog, Economic Security, Education|

Kentucky kids need you: Speak out on use of restraint and seclusion in Kentucky schools

Imagine the scene. It actually happened. The superintendent was walking through the school cafeteria. As he did, he spotted a student rising from his seat with a knife. A former gridiron star, the superintendent claims that he “drank from the fountain of youth” and launched himself like a middle linebacker to take the knife-toting youth to the ground. Imagine another scene. It, too actually, happened. On a Wednesday night in a Yonkers, New York school, [...]

By Terry Brooks|2012-12-06T09:31:29-05:00December 6th, 2012|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|

Kentucky Shortchanged on Child Poverty Funding, New Analysis Shows

First Focus and Kentucky Youth Advocates released a new report today, showing that funding to help Kentucky manage the growing problem of child poverty lags behind that of other states like Ohio, Illinois, and West Virginia. It also recommends concrete actions Kentucky’s Congressional delegation can take right now to give Kentucky’s leaders the resources they need to meet children’s needs. The report, TANF Supplemental Grants: Reforming and Restoring Support for Children Who Need it the [...]

By admin|2012-11-20T12:03:21-05:00November 20th, 2012|Blog, Economic Security|