Last week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, offering a snapshot of how children and families across the country are doing. For Kentucky, the message of this year's data is familiar but urgent: progress is happening, but it’s not happening fast enough. Kentucky ranks 36th in the nation for overall child well-being in the 2026 report. The ranking reflects a mix of improvements and setbacks across the [...]
Contact: Mara Powell | mpowell@kyyouth.org | 502-895-8167 X122 Kentucky Ranks 36th in 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book as Kentucky Youth Advocates Urges Deepened Focus on How Kids and Families Fare Annual National Report on Child Well-Being Shows Progress and Gaps for Kentucky LOUISVILLE, KY — Kentucky ranks 36th in child well-being, according to the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a 50-state report of recent data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how kids [...]
New Report – KYA and True Up Examine Education Outcomes of Kentucky Youth with Foster Care Experience Interactive report features key data on outcomes and barriers to success and offers policy recommendations Louisville, KY – Students with foster care experience bring unique strengths and perspectives to our classrooms; they also face trauma and systemic hurdles that can make the climb toward graduation and beyond more difficult. To support more informed, data-driven responses, Kentucky Youth Advocates [...]
By Claire Elmore, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates While Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session has officially ended, federal lawmakers are still working on important legislation that could strengthen supports for young people with foster care experience. On April 29th, the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously advanced six bipartisan bills to modernize the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood and the Education and Training Voucher program. The six bills [...]
By Hannah Edelen & Guest Writer, Aleah Stigall Aleah Stigall is a 17-year-old senior at Boyle County High School and has a passion for connection. She strives to teach the importance of real relationships with real people, as she shared at the 2026 Town Hall on Kids at Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. Through her personal initiative, “Disconnect To Connect - Let’s Get Real,” Aleah educates her peers [...]
Almost 70% of children under the age of 6 go to some type of formalized child care outside of the home. As a working mom, both of my sons went to licensed child care centers so that I could work. When I was growing up, that is not what I expected. My mother stayed at home with me and my sister until we both entered kindergarten. I was blessed that she was able [...]
Every year, we at Kentucky Youth Advocates anxiously watch the final days and hours of the state legislative session, hopeful our legislators will send a few more ‘good for kids’ bills to the Governor’s desk – even as we know the realities of those odds are stacked against us. Of the 1,293 bills and resolutions filed this year, approximately 174 passed through both Chambers and were signed, vetoed and then overrode, or became [...]
Every two years, our state lawmakers convene to shape the Commonwealth’s biennial budget – taking into consideration the needs across Kentucky, the limitations or opportunities of the revenue, and, especially of late, sustaining a healthy rainy day fund. Kentucky’s last few budgets were bolstered by federal COVID dollars. This time around, our lawmakers not only had to navigate less federal support, but also the budget realities that federal HR1 has brought to our [...]
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Child care advocates are cheering as House Bill 6 passed the Kentucky Senate floor this afternoon. With the leadership of Representative Samara Heavrin, this robust legislation thoughtfully strengthens Kentucky’s child care infrastructure for the bottom line of families, businesses, and the state budget. Among its many components, HB 6 will impact accessibility, affordability, and availability of quality [...]
All children deserve to learn and grow in an encouraging and supportive environment that reduces the risk of system involvement. Yet, recent legislative changes have led to more children and parents entering the court system for truancy. Truancy is defined as missing three or more days of school or being tardy on three or more days without a valid excuse. Any child who is reported as truant two or more times in a one year [...]
