Blog – Page 170 – Kentucky Youth Advocates

Reclaiming Youth Futures in Kentucky

The following post by Tara Grieshop-Goodwin, deputy director if KYA, was featured on the Reclaiming Futures blog. To see the original post, visit http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/blog/. Many things make me proud to call Kentucky home – beautiful horses, great college basketball, and friendly people. But behind the rolling hills, the thrilling games, and smiling faces, are several things that raise concern about my great state. Kentucky frequently ranks at the bottom of the pile on health, economic [...]

By Tara Grieshop-Goodwin|2011-08-25T10:00:50-04:00August 25th, 2011|Blog, Youth Justice|

Hand-in-hand: Health and Economic Well-being

Often, our work at KYA cuts across sectors. We talk about the juvenile justice system, and we find ourselves taking into account alternative education programs. We talk about health, and we find ourselves talking about larger economic well-being issues (for an example of the latter, you can see our most recent publication on Medicaid Managed Care Programs in Kentucky). The idea of taking two issues hand-in-hand is not a new one. The Robert Wood Johnson [...]

By Katie Carter|2011-08-24T10:03:43-04:00August 24th, 2011|Blog, Health, Youth Justice|

Ending the Blame Game

Last week Terry Brooks had a post about the possibility that people could be losing sight of our country’s very real child poverty problem amid the hype about the national debt and credit rating. I have a corresponding fear that people hear all the talk about the impact and aftermath of the recession and conclude that Kentucky’s sad economic situation can be blamed solely on the recession, or even worse, that there’s little to do [...]

By Amy Swann|2011-08-18T12:00:33-04:00August 18th, 2011|Blog|

Kentucky 41st in KIDS COUNT Ranking of Child Well-Being

Kentucky remains one of the bottom 10 states in the nation for over-all child well-being with an overall rank of 41, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The annual publication uses the best available data on ten key indicators to gauge the educational, social, economic, and physical well-being of children in each state. The 2011 Data Book reports an 18 percent increase in the U.S. child poverty rate between [...]

By admin|2011-08-17T10:07:06-04:00August 17th, 2011|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|

Kentucky Realities in the Midst of DC and Wall Street Hysteria

Debt ceiling. Credit rating downgrade for the USA. A frenzy on the market. All of those are important (and troubling) economic headlines to be sure. But I wonder and worry if all the talk of the past month around macro-economics, the complexities of structural debt, and Standard & Poors obscures the realities of the day to day poverty that Kentuckians experience. The federal poverty level is $21,756 for a family of four. And we know [...]

By Terry Brooks|2023-01-05T09:19:47-05:00August 11th, 2011|Blog, Economic Security|

The Leaky Bucket Report

In his August 1 column in Louisville’s Courier-Journal, David Adkisson shared a perspective from the Kentucky Chamber’s follow-up to their 2009 study, the Leaky Bucket, focusing on reforming state spending in Kentucky. The Chamber provides a valuable voice on the issue and certainly represents the business community with real power. Unfortunately, the Chamber’s report is missing the realities of what Kentucky children and families face, particularly in the wake of the recession. While the report [...]

By Terry Brooks|2011-08-04T10:21:46-04:00August 4th, 2011|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Youth Justice|

National Breastfeeding Awareness Week – Kentucky Needs Improvement

Experts agree that breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for infants and is associated with numerous positive outcomes for both babies and mothers. Yet, Kentucky has the 5th lowest rate in the nation of babies who were ever breastfed at just over half (57.8%) of Kentucky children born in 2008. We have actually made progress from two years ago when we were second to last, however there is still plenty of room for improvement. What’s the [...]

By Patricia Tennen|2011-08-02T10:25:18-04:00August 2nd, 2011|Blog, Health|

Kentucky Economic Watch: SNAP Participation Continues to Increase in Kentucky

Despite the fact that the recession is officially over, participation in the Supplemental Food Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Kentucky continues to climb. The number of people participating in the program peaked again in June 2011 after also increasing in May. In June, more than 831,000 Kentuckians relied on this program to feed their families, an increase of more than 6,000 from May 2011. SNAP is a federally funded program that reduces food insecurities by [...]

By admin|2011-08-01T10:29:16-04:00August 1st, 2011|Blog, Economic Security|

Hold Kids Harmless: Sign-On Letter to President and Congressional Leadership

Kentucky Youth Advocates recently signed on to the following letter from the First Focus Campaign for Children, asking President Obama and Congressional Leadership to keep children safe when finalizing a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Simply put, cuts to the children’s budget hurts kids, and only makes a dent in the deficit. We are looking for Kentucky organizations who are also interested in adding their name to the letter! Dear Mr. President and Congressional [...]

By Patricia Tennen|2011-07-28T10:35:53-04:00July 28th, 2011|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

We’re Hot in Washington

We picked a hot time to visit with Kentucky’s Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C, both literally and figuratively.… We spent a lot of time trying not to melt in the heat on our walks between offices, while sensing the intense heat Congress faces to address the current budget crisis. As we waited for each of our meetings to begin, staffers were frantically answering phones trying to keep up with call after call about the debt [...]

By Katie Carter|2011-07-28T10:32:42-04:00July 28th, 2011|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Youth Justice|