The Fund Kids First Rally is four days away! We are excited to join you in Frankfort as the Kentucky General Assembly begins a special legislative session for a rally at 11 am EDT on Monday. Find final details about the rally including logistics, what to bring, and RSVP information below. Final Details for the Rally Bring with you… An umbrella and wear a poncho to use as a visual – “Budget cuts = Rainy [...]
You have just a few more days to give input on the 2014 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities. The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a policy initiative supported by children’s advocates across the Commonwealth working to improve the lives of children. Please complete the 2014 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Survey by Monday, August 19. Find the survey here. The Blueprint aims to promote safe and healthy families, a fair deal for working parents and a fair opportunity for every child in [...]
A couple Kentucky Youth Advocates staff , including myself, had the opportunity to meet with members of Kentucky’s federal delegation last week while in Washington, DC for conferences. The visits came on the same day national partners released exciting new polling numbers showing broad support among voters for Congress to take action to increase investments in early childhood education to give young children a strong start. The new polling data made for good conversations with members [...]
The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is is beginning its 7th year. The Blueprint is a policy initiative supported by children’s advocates across the Commonwealth to improve the lives of children in Kentucky. The Blueprint aims to achieve safe and healthy families, a fair deal for working parents and a fair opportunity for every child in Kentucky. Responding to a challenge from legislators asking child advocates to speak with a common voice, children’s advocacy groups formed the Blueprint [...]
The Kentucky General Assembly begins a special legislative session on August 19. While the state seems unable to find dollars for the youngest children in Kentucky, it ended its fiscal year with a $70.6 million surplus. We want to use this opportunity to let state legislators know that "It's raining on kids" and its time to "Fund Kids First" including restored funding to the Child Care Assistance Program and the Kinship Care Program. Since April 1, [...]
Kacey Musgraves is a new country music sensation. Her opening number, “Blowing Smoke” goes like: Between the lunch and dinner rush Kelly caught that out bound bus for Vegas. And we're all out here talkin trash, makin bets, Lips wrapped round our cigarettes. She always thought she was too good to be a waitress. We all say that we'll quit someday When our ship comes in we'll just sail away. But we're just blowin smoke. [...]
Since April 1, no new families have been able to receive child care assistance or apply for the Kinship Care Program. Child care assistance helps low-income working families afford child care while the Kinship Care Program provides financial support to grandparents and other relatives who are raising children because they cannot live safely with their parents. In addition, the state raised income eligibility limits for child care assistance from 150 percent to 100 percent of [...]
“Invest in prevention-not remediation.” That was the primary message of Dr. James Heckman’s lecture that took place in Henderson, Kentucky on Tuesday July 23, 2013. The Nobel Laureate and Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago has been a part of several studies surrounding early childhood development and the relationship that early education has with the economy. Dr. Heckman is also considered an expert in the economics of human development. Dr. Heckman’s research of [...]
Since April 1, no new families have been able to receive child care assistance or apply for the Kinship Care Program, which provides financial support to non-parental, relative caregivers, like grandparents. In addition, the state raised income eligibility limits for child care assistance from 150 percent to 100 percent of the poverty level, causing 8,700 families to lose child care assistance each month. This stems from a decision by the Department for Community Based Services [...]
It’s pretty clear by now that families across Kentucky are still struggling in the wake of the recession. Although unemployment has been decreasing, the number of children in poverty continues to climb, as does the number of households relying on food stamps to feed their families. Times are tough and they don’t appear to be getting much better. Last week, the Economic Policy Institute released their updated Family Budget Calculator (which you can check out [...]
