This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal September 3, 2020. By Terry Brooks, executive director Kentucky Youth Advocates To say that autumn 2020 may bring surprises is the classic understatement. Can you imagine a year ago – or even a few months ago – seeing a September when kids are in front of a screen at home instead of in a classroom at school? Or an October when talk about college football playoffs [...]
Updated September 16, 2020 Tumbleweeds seem to be blowing around the halls of Congress these days as families continue to struggle to feed their children, pay their rent, care for their children, and work to overcome the challenges of life during COVID-19. For a brief moment it seemed like politics would be put aside in favor of doing what is best for kids and families. But the spectacular leadership of our representatives in Washington seen [...]
There are no shortage of concerns on the minds of Kentuckians as we prepare to vote this November. This will be a consequential election. The local, state, and federal leaders we select will determine policy that will impact our daily lives for what may be generations to come. But how often do we pause to consider--specifically--how our choices at the ballot box will impact us, and particularly young children who depend on us to make [...]
This week, Governor Beshear announced a request to school districts to delay opening for in-person classes until the end of September. While many of us are accustomed to uncertainty these days, it put a new urgency on many parents to figure out viable child care options. Many families were anticipating schools reopening as an opportunity for kids to get the social interaction and educational support they have been missing for months on end, but let’s [...]
Navigating COVID-19 has been an unparalleled challenge for our families, our commonwealth, and our country. As Kentucky looks ahead to its future, there are many solutions and recovery efforts we can undertake within the commonwealth. But many other efforts require federal policy changes and federal budget investments. As federal leaders debate the next pandemic recovery package, Kentucky kids and families are looking to Washington, D.C. for the following solutions: Healthcare priorities for Kentucky kids and [...]
This news release was originally posted by the Prichard Committee on July 23, 2020. According to a recent survey of Kentucky parents and families, nearly 30% of respondents are struggling to find child care following the end of mandated closures in June due to the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, more than half of the 1,570 survey respondents reported being moderately to extremely stressed about sending their child back to child care. The Prichard Committee, along with [...]
In June, Kentucky Youth Advocates co-released the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2020 KIDS COUNT Data Book, which tracks child well-being across states. The Data Book is perhaps best known for its state rankings that generate newspaper headlines, but another hallmark is its unflinching portrayal of how child well-being differs by race and ethnicity. The Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates know that data for the child population as a whole frequently (in fact, almost always) [...]
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today's announcement to extend the application period of Kentucky’s Pandemic-EBT benefit through the end of August carries significance in and of itself to be sure, especially for the thousands of eligible families. But it is also symbolic of a tone of real responsiveness that Governor Beshear and Secretary Friedlander exemplify. That tonality is a key to leadership during these trying [...]
Child Well-Being Data Highlights Continued Areas of Need as the Commonwealth Prepares to Recover from the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic KIDS COUNT® Data Book provides comprehensive annual report on child well-being in the U.S. LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Kentucky ranks 37th in the nation in overall child well-being, according to the latest edition of the KIDS COUNT® Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Kentucky’s measurable, but still inadequate, improvements were due [...]
Abraham Lincoln once said that the key to success rested in moving very slowly, but never moving backward. One hundred and fifty years later, Lincoln’s words have never been truer for his old Kentucky home’s march toward creating and sustaining safe, high quality child care for all persons across our Commonwealth. And in true Lincolnian fashion, a “team of rivals” have assembled to strike a chord for the needs of Kentucky’s child care sector. Child [...]
