There are no action alerts at this time.
Sign up to receive action alerts and other updates about policies that are good for kids and families here.
Get the latest news, updates, and action alerts on issues impacting Kentucky kids in your pocket!
Sign up to receive text alerts from Kentucky Youth Advocates by texting KYAinfo to 51555.
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal. Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) recently released its 2018 KIDS COUNT County Data Book. This is, in many ways, the report card for Kentucky’s kids on a state-wide, regional, and county-level basis. Lots of data. Lots of good news. Lots of challenges. Though we’ve seen improved rates in 93 out of 120 counties, nearly one in four Kentucky kids still live in poverty. We have [...]
As Kentucky has seen an increase in the number of children in foster care, many agencies, organizations, and individuals are working in innovative and collaborative ways to respond to the needs of children who’ve experienced abuse or neglect. Below are a few examples of work that is underway in Frankfort and around the state. We’re also sharing five ways you can get involved in the new year to help ensure every kid is safe and [...]
A new infographic from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Kentucky Youth Advocates highlights the surge in e-cigarette usage among teens seen across the commonwealth and the nation. While youth cigarette smoking in Kentucky has steadily declined, the growing popularity of e-cigarettes, known as vapes and Juuls, is putting a new generation of teens at risk of nicotine addiction. “Kentucky just can’t afford to addict another generation to tobacco products, and the fact that youth e-cig [...]
In November, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Fostering Youth Transitions, an issue brief detailing data on the experiences of transition age youth, or youth in foster care who are close to or in the process of transitioning out of the child welfare system. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a pivotal developmental stage as young people learn the skills needed to be healthy and productive adults, and that transition can be complicated for [...]
The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children stands on three cornerstones: Thriving communities launch strong families. Strong families launch successful kids. Successful kids launch a prosperous future for Kentucky. We’re launching the 2019 Blueprint policy priorities with partners from across the commonwealth with those three cornerstones in mind. We invite you to learn more about the Blueprint priorities and how to get involved. Check out the 2019 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priorities. Read the fact sheets for the [...]
To mark the release of our Kentucky KIDS COUNT 2018 County Data Book, we spent last week on the road, visiting five communities across the Commonwealth, including Louisville, Paducah, Glasgow, Manchester and Covington. Our goals were two-fold. First, we wanted to introduce community leaders to the 100+ local data points available through the Kentucky KIDS COUNT Project that can give them a picture of how kids are faring in their counties. Secondly, we wanted [...]
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Herald Leader. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO via the Lexington Herald Leader Kentucky Youth Advocates recently released its 2018 KIDS COUNT County Data Book. This is, in many ways, the report card for Kentucky’s kids on a statewide, regional and county level. It will surprise no one that the report is filled with both good news and challenges. We have made some headway in reducing the percentage of [...]
Core to Kentucky Youth Advocates mission, we believe that children of every background and in every part of Kentucky deserve all the tools and opportunities that we as a commonwealth can provide. This Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book serves as an annual report card for how we are meeting that charge for all of our kids. The 2018 County Data Book offers the latest data on 17 measures of child well-being, showing whether outcomes for children across [...]
Every child needs a family. We know that children succeed when they are with caring adults who can help guide them as they grow. The commonwealth has over 9,800 children living with foster families or in group homes as a result of abuse, neglect, or dependency. The goal in Kentucky is to reunify children in foster care with their parents, and, when that cannot happen safely, children become eligible for adoption from foster care. November [...]
October is National Dental Hygiene Month, and we’re celebrating dental hygienists across Kentucky! Dental hygienists play a critical role in helping children and adults by examining signs of oral diseases such as gingivitis, educating patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral health, and providing preventative services such as providing fluoride varnish, removing of plaque, and cleaning. However, the Making Smiles Happen: 2016 Oral Health Study Kentucky Youth tells us that many kids aren’t [...]
