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Guest Post: Advocating In My Hometown

By Hannah Givens As an intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates, my summer project focused on my hometown of Greensburg in Green County. I focused on data points that KYA and the Annie E. Casey Foundation produce on children and their well-being for Kentucky and nationwide. With the upcoming 2017-2018 school year on the horizon, I presented to community leaders who work with children on a regular basis and that make decisions that affect our Green County children. [...]

By |2017-08-02T16:14:49-04:00August 2nd, 2017|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health, Kids Count|
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Guest Post: Curiosity, KIDS COUNT, and a New Perspective

By Hannah Givens For the past two months I have been interning here at Kentucky Youth Advocates and am excited to share my experience. I first became interested in KYA when I met Dr. Terry Brooks at a meeting in Frankfort, flipping through the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children fact sheet booklet while he explained KYA’s initiatives. From taking a public policy course at Wingate University (Thanks, Dr. Wobig), I understood the policy priorities and recommendations [...]

By |2017-07-26T22:29:56-04:00July 26th, 2017|Blog, Kids Count|
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Looking Back: 28 Years of the National KIDS COUNT Project

As Kentucky Youth Advocates celebrates its 40th birthday, we’re looking back at our history and how it has shaped the organization we are today. A big part of KYA’s history is the KIDS COUNT project, begun in 1989 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to strengthen public action on behalf of children and families and promote public accountability for their outcomes. When the Casey Foundation released the first edition of the national KIDS COUNT Data [...]

By |2017-07-19T10:16:40-04:00July 19th, 2017|Blog, Kids Count|
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Celebrate “Cool” Wins for Kids this Summer

Summer is here! As Kentuckians, we can certainly count on experiencing hot and humid weather and can hopefully count on enjoying cool treats and days playing in the sprinkler. Another certainty we can count on during the Kentucky summer is the implementation of bills that were signed into law during the General Assembly. The Kentucky Constitution states that new laws go into effect 90 days after the legislative session adjourns. The 2017 regular session adjourned [...]

By |2017-07-13T09:01:08-04:00July 13th, 2017|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Youth Justice|
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Guest Post: Opening Doors to a Positive Future

By Reggie Smith As a strong advocate for young adults, I am grateful to acknowledge the recent passing of SB 195 during the 2017 Kentucky legislative session. This bill provides youth with the opportunity to expunge certain felonies off of their criminal record. In 2016, the General Assembly passed HB 40 to allow adults to expunge certain felonies; youth, however, were still not allowed to expunge a number of felonies. SB 195 closed that gap [...]

By |2017-07-05T17:05:56-04:00July 5th, 2017|Blog, Youth Justice|
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A History of Making Oral Health a Priority for Kids

We know that oral health is an integral part of a child’s development and learning. Kids deserve to play, grow, and learn with a pain-free mouth. Through the years, Kentucky Youth Advocates has had the opportunity to work with several influential leaders, organizations, and businesses across the state to improve Kentucky kids’ oral health. As we celebrate our 40th birthday, we wanted to highlight some of the oral health wins for kids throughout the years. [...]

By |2017-06-27T13:56:13-04:00June 27th, 2017|Blog, Health|
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Solutions to Tackle Child Poverty

The latest national KIDS COUNT Data Book reveals that more than 1 in 4 children in Kentucky live in poverty. Some families in which these children live may be scraping by, but others may not know where their next meal is coming from or where they will sleep next week. Living in poverty permeates every aspect of a child’s life—including their health, educational attainment, and future success—and by addressing poverty we can immediately begin to [...]

By |2017-06-21T16:08:14-04:00June 21st, 2017|Blog, Economic Security, Kids Count|
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Are You Up for the Challenge?

As a parent of three children – two who have graduated from the same Kentucky public high school and one who is just two years away from graduating – the past 16 or so years has been focused on helping them navigate through their educational experiences. There has been nothing more important than being a partner with other parents, teachers, and administrators in ensuring my children are accessing the content areas in a way that [...]

By |2017-06-14T17:30:57-04:00June 14th, 2017|Blog, Education|
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It’s Time to Change the Trajectory of Child Poverty

Every year, the KIDS COUNT® Data Book offers us a clear choice. Do we accept mediocrity for the Commonwealth’s children? Are we content with being a bottom half state? Or do citizens and elected leaders look at the data, craft solutions, and invent a better future for our children and youth? This year is no different. Kentucky ranks 34th in the nation in overall child well-being, according to the 2017 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, released [...]

By |2017-06-13T07:13:09-04:00June 13th, 2017|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Kids Count|
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Coming Soon: 2017 National KIDS COUNT Data Book

Next Tuesday, June 13th, Kentucky Youth Advocates co-releases the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book. The Data Book includes data on all 50 states, and you can see how Kentucky is faring on 16 key indicators of child well-being. You can find the book on our website next week, and you can be the first to know about the book by signing up for email alerts and following us on Facebook and Twitter. Once [...]

By |2017-06-06T14:23:59-04:00June 6th, 2017|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
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