Health

Educational and Health Care Consent Laws Needed for Kinship Caregivers

Educational and Health Care Consent Laws Needed for Kinship Caregivers

Over the past few months, Kentucky Youth Advocates has been talking with professionals, surveying support group leaders and listening to kinship caregivers in order to identify the needs facing children in kinship care in Kentucky. Some 63,000 children in Kentucky are being raised by grandparents and other relatives, at the second highest rate in the nation. Last week we shared about confusion over the fact that all children who are being raised by relatives are [...]

By Patricia Tennen|2013-11-25T15:04:37-05:00November 25th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|

The First Eight Years Part 3: A Holistic Approach to Kids and Their Families

The First Eight Years Part 3: A Holistic Approach to Kids and Their Families

Do we run systems for children from an adult orientation or a kid’s perspective? That is this week’s big picture question in thinking about Kentucky’s kids during their first eight years of life. We have been writing for the last couple of weeks about a recent report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for a Lifetime of Success, which was co-released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) and Kentucky Youth Advocates on [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-11-21T09:48:14-05:00November 21st, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

Connecting Kentucky’s Food System: Webinar Friday, November 22

Connecting Kentucky’s Food System: Webinar Friday, November 22

An online workshop exploring the potential of a statewide food policy network is scheduled for this Friday, November 22 at 1:00pm EST. The workshop, sponsored by Community Farm Alliance is a great opportunity to participate in statewide collaboration to improve our food system. Register here.

By Lacey McNary|2013-11-20T14:12:05-05:00November 20th, 2013|Blog, Health|

Babies Cannot Be Exposed to Smoke

Babies Cannot Be Exposed to Smoke

Just imagine. With one commitment – with one behavioral change – with one decision – we could slash the number of newborn babies’ risk of developmental and intellectual disabilities; cerebral palsy; vision and hearing loss; death before that first birthday cake; and sudden infant death syndrome. Generally, when we talk about changing conditions for Kentucky’s kids, the solutions are multi-layered and complex. But not this time. All those risks are implicit when a baby is [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-11-19T16:08:45-05:00November 19th, 2013|Blog, Health|

The First Eight Years Part 2: Adverse Childhood Experiences

The First Eight Years Part 2: Adverse Childhood Experiences

Last week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates co-released a new KIDS COUNT policy report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success. Part I in this blog series on the report was posted last week and highlighted one important aspect of the report—the impact of poverty on young children. And now for Part 2 in this series, the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the first eight years. Adverse [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-11-13T15:27:48-05:00November 13th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

kynect to Your Dental Benefits

kynect to Your Dental Benefits

A survey sponsored by the Children’s Dental Health Project found that most Americans are unaware that children’s dental services are covered under the 10 essential health benefits in the Affordable Care Act. According to the survey, 33% of Americans say that either they or a family member are currently suffering from dental problems that need to be addressed. Some barriers that prevent individuals from getting the care they need are out-of-pocket expenses and lack of [...]

By admin|2013-11-13T08:07:52-05:00November 13th, 2013|Blog, Health|

Adoption Facts for Kentucky

Adoption Facts for Kentucky

November is National Adoption Month, so it seems fitting to take a moment to discuss how Kentucky’s foster care system is working for children waiting for a permanent home. The North American Council on Adoptable Children recently released adoption fact sheets for every state in the U.S. with data collected in 2011. The fact sheets provide analysis on data indicators like the amount of time a child waits to be adopted, or the number of [...]

By Shannon Moody|2013-11-06T10:36:36-05:00November 6th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

We Need to Get Serious About Economic Security to Help Kids Succeed

We Need to Get Serious About Economic Security to Help Kids Succeed

The KIDS COUNT policy report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success, was co-released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates. We release a lot of reports, as does Casey – I know that. But this one made me think as deeply as any “report card” styled brief that I have read in a long time. The report builds a strong case for investing in quality early [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-11-05T13:20:03-05:00November 5th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

Scrub Away Tooth Decay: Help Us Celebrate National Brush Day

Scrub Away Tooth Decay: Help Us Celebrate National Brush Day

“Trick or Treat” – Millions of children across the country will repeat this phrase many, many times today on Halloween. Good thing the day after Halloween is deemed “NATIONAL BRUSH DAY!” This new day of awareness, scheduled November 1st is obviously an ideal time to talk with children about the importance of dental hygiene. Leftover Halloween candy is on every child’s mind (and maybe even their parents’ minds) the day or week after Halloween. Some candy is less harmful to [...]

By admin|2013-10-31T14:30:25-04:00October 31st, 2013|Blog, Health|

First Step Up for Kids Regional Event in Owensboro was a Success

First Step Up for Kids Regional Event in Owensboro was a Success

On Monday, I had the privilege to participate in the Step Up For Kids event in Owensboro, Kentucky which was hosted and organized by the Public Life Foundation and the Hager Educational Foundation. We spent the morning with over 70 citizens, educators, health professionals, local elected officials, and others to talk about the key issues facing children in Kentucky and how to advocate for the 2014 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children agenda. View the news coverage [...]

By Andrea Bennett|2013-10-31T14:17:07-04:00October 31st, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|