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New Medicaid Co-payment Policy Took Effect on January 1st

Photo provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation As the state moves forward with changes to the Medicaid system through a 1115 Medicaid Waiver, a new and separate Medicaid policy took effect on January 1st related to co-payments for Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion eligible recipients. Co-payment is an amount of money people pay to a healthcare provider for a health service, such as an office visit or prescription medication. The amount differs depending [...]

By |2019-01-17T17:49:57-05:00January 17th, 2019|Blog, Health|
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Safe Schools, Safe Kids, Bright Futures

Kentucky’s legislative School Safety Working Group (SSWG), made up of bipartisan legislators, stakeholders and other experts in school safety, has met since June 2018 to listen to and discuss proposals to improve school safety across the Commonwealth. While many states across the nation are feeling pressure to provide a quick, reactive solution, the SSWG, co-chaired by Senator Max Wise and Representative Bam Carney, approached these meetings through an intentional process -- hearing what is currently [...]

By |2019-02-06T16:43:00-05:00January 8th, 2019|Blog, Education, Health|
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In 2019, Let’s Work Together for Kentucky Kids

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 [...]

By |2018-12-20T15:39:23-05:00December 20th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
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Five Ways to Help Ensure Every Kid is Safe and Has a Family

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 [...]

By |2019-09-05T12:56:27-04:00December 20th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Kentucky Teens Say E-cig Use Rampant and Adults Are Unaware

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 [...]

By |2018-12-10T16:46:38-05:00December 10th, 2018|Blog, Education, Health|
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Fostering Youth Transitions

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 [...]

By |2019-09-05T12:57:57-04:00December 6th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Kids Count|
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Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2019 Priorities!

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 [...]

By |2018-12-05T09:37:11-05:00December 5th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Youth Justice|
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Five days, Five KIDS COUNT Community Conversations, Countless Lessons

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 [...]

By |2018-12-04T18:59:05-05:00December 4th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
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Common Ground and Common Good for Kentucky Kids

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 [...]

By |2019-01-21T14:57:38-05:00November 23rd, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
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A Holistic Look at Child Well-Being in the Commonwealth

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 [...]

By |2018-11-12T15:42:10-05:00November 13th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Medicaid, Youth Justice|
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