Yulie and Jenna presented at a recent Coalition for a Smoke-free Tomorrow press conference announcing the filing of the e-cigarette tax bill. “In the last year and a half, I went to 3 proms, 2 homecomings, graduated high school, got a job, AND I saw the rise of e-cigarette usage in high schools and middle schools across Kentucky and the nation. For a device that's small enough to fit between my thumb and [...]
When children cannot remain safely with their parents, grandparents, other relatives, and close family friends often step up to help raise them. There have been a lot of changes over the last few months in Kentucky around services and supports related to relatives and close family friends raising children, also known as kinship care and fictive kin care. To learn more, check out the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ new KY FACES website. If [...]
The Annie E. Casey Foundation published the first KIDS COUNT Data Book in 1990 to provide a comprehensive picture of American children and their families that was comparable across states. With the release of the 30th edition last month, we’re looking back to see how Kentucky’s current youth are faring compared to those in 1990 (approximately one generation ago). Reviewing a variety of key indicators of child well-being we see areas where Kentucky has [...]
The U.S. Census Bureau is currently conducting a test in preparation for the 2020 Census next year. Your household might be asked to participate in this test, or a participant may turn to you for more information about it. Here is what you should know about the 2019 Census Test: 1. This is just a test – the actual decennial census takes place in 2020. 2. 480,000 households are receiving a questionnaire – half will [...]
Social workers and educators, judges and prosecutors, nonprofit leaders, state legislators, and many other advocates for Kentucky kids and families have been travelling near and far over the last few weeks to learn more about the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, implementation in Kentucky, and what it will mean for Kentucky families. The Family First Regional Convenings seek to share information about the federal legislation, anticipated changes in Kentucky over the coming months and [...]
This week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 30th edition of the KIDS COUNT® Data Book. The annual Data Book uses 16 indicators of well-being to rank each state across four domains — health, education, economic well-being and family and community — and calculate an overall rank. Kentucky ranks 34th in the nation in overall child well-being, 37th in economic well-being, 27th in education, 25th in health, and 43rd in the family and community domain. [...]
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal and Kentucky Today on June 18, 2019. By Terry Brooks, executive director Kentucky Youth Advocates Shel Silverstein, the late and wonderful children’s author, urges: “Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” With the release of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2019 [...]
Last month we reviewed the latest data on youth suicides, which show suicide as a growing cause of death for Kentucky youth ages 10-14. As we reflect on Mental Health Month we want to provide suicide prevention resources all of us can use throughout the year to stop these tragic deaths. Every single one of us need to know the risk factors and warning signs of suicide and how to tell the difference between normal [...]
Kentucky Youth Advocates is looking for photos of Kentucky kids to include in the 2019 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book and other Kentucky Youth Advocates publications. We know you all proudly share pictures of your kids and grandkids by hanging them on your refrigerator and posting them on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s your chance to promote those cute kids through Kentucky Youth Advocates’ materials. We need your photos by August 31st so please start sending them in. In order [...]
Last Spring, Congress delivered an historic increase in funding for child care assistance and the Bevin Administration quickly put the additional $42 million to good use including raising provider payment rates, easing how quickly families lose CCAP when they get raise or better paying job, and allowing enrollment in education/training to fulfill the 20-hour work requirement. Supporting access to affordable, quality and reliable child care is a win for young children, working parents, and our state economy. [...]
