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2021 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book: A Look at Data Trends and Solutions to Advance Racial Equity in the Commonwealth

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 2021 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book: A Look at Data Trends and Solutions to Advance Racial Equity in the Commonwealth Featuring the latest county-level data for key measures of child well-being Louisville, KY – Kentucky will be strongest when all children have their best chance to thrive. The 2021 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book examines data disaggregated by race/ethnicity, the impacts of systemic racial injustice on children and families, [...]

By |2021-11-10T13:50:01-05:00November 10th, 2021|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Medicaid, News Room, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Mark Your Calendars: Children’s Advocacy Week January 18th-21st

For 15 years advocates for kids gathered in Frankfort for Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol to fill the halls of the Capitol and ask their elected officials to step up for Kentucky kids. The critical mass of advocates in the Capitol building led to many policy wins and raising awareness of issues facing kids and their families.   And then? COVID-19 forced the cancellation of in-person events across the globe, including the 2021 Children’s Advocacy Day. Kentucky kids needed advocates more than ever before, [...]

By |2021-12-07T16:36:37-05:00October 19th, 2021|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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OP-ED: Is that the best we’ve got for our kids?

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on October 7, 2021. By Dr. Terry Brooks Knee jerk and wrong-headed proposals. Courageous young people giving voice to the issues at hand in the middle of a school board meeting. Bold leadership from our Superintendent. And a puzzling mix of regressive and promising policy proposals from Metro Council leadership. Thus is the landscape of Louisville as we grieve the tragic murder of Tyree Smith. And [...]

By |2021-10-07T14:28:19-04:00October 7th, 2021|Blog, Education, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Update on the Kentucky Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity

When the final gavel sounded on the 2021 General Assembly, several pieces of legislation passed that will begin to close gaps in opportunity for children of color. Among these policies that became law was Senate Bill 10, co-sponsored by Senator David Givens, Senator Whitney Westerfield, and Senate President Robert Stivers, which established a Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity. The Commission is tasked with providing studies, research driven policy proposals, and annual reports crossing [...]

By |2021-09-02T16:58:26-04:00September 2nd, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Implementation of 2021 Wins for Kids

Many of you joined us in advocating for the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy and budget priorities through virtual meetings, calling, or emailing your legislators, attended Children’s Advocacy Week, and so much more throughout the 2021 legislative session. Your critical efforts paid off with legislative wins for children and positive investments in the state budget. These new laws went into effect June 29th and the new state budget will take effect July 1st. Blueprint [...]

By |2021-06-30T13:04:48-04:00June 30th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Launching Visitation Project to Support Children with Incarcerated Parents

Parental incarceration has often been referred to as a ‘shared sentence’ because of the impact it has on the community, caregivers, and most importantly, the children. In Kentucky, approximately 12% of children have been separated from a parent due to incarceration, the third highest rate in the nation.   As a state, we have taken critical steps to address some of the factors contributing to the rise in parental incarceration. However, there are still tens of thousands of children being impacted. It’s imperative that we work to identify ways to [...]

By |2021-04-30T14:51:09-04:00April 28th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice|
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Thank You: Wins for Kids in the 2021 General Assembly

The final gavel sounded on the 2021 General Assembly this week! This year, the Governor and the Kentucky General Assembly were tasked with crafting a continuation budget, addressing the systemic injustices that impact our children and families of color, advancing policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and other policy priorities that would be good for the communities they represent and the Commonwealth. If we take a second to reflect, that’s a heavy lift in a [...]

By |2021-04-15T16:57:00-04:00March 31st, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Medicaid, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Final Budget Passage by the Kentucky General Assembly

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – From the start, the 2021 state budget process was filled with perplexing complexities. One, because the Governor and Kentucky General Assembly were tasked with crafting a continuation budget due to timing constraints brought on by the pandemic during the 2020 legislative session. Two, leaders were faced with tough decisions as Kentucky embraces the ongoing ripple effects of [...]

By |2021-03-31T15:07:13-04:00March 31st, 2021|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Medicaid, News Room, Race Equity|
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Statement on the Governor Signing Senate Bill 84 Into Law

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – With passage of Senate Bill 133 of 2018, the Kentucky General Assembly became the first state in the country to pass the “Dignity Bill,” a piece of legislation specifically tailored toward improving conditions for women who are incarcerated. This year, the legislature re-emphasized their commitment to the issue by unanimously supporting passage of Senate Bill 84, known as the “Dignity Bill 2.0,” sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams. And [...]

By |2021-03-23T15:00:13-04:00March 23rd, 2021|Justice, News Room, Race Equity|
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2021 Bills to Watch that Seek to Advance Race Equity for Kids

As our commonwealth works to overcome the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and systemic racism, Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children have a common vision of a brighter future for every Kentucky kid and their family. We are counting on legislative leaders to prioritize policies that advance race equity and address systemic racism in the current and future legislative sessions. We previously shared our commitment to ensure all policies within the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda [...]

By |2021-02-18T14:26:41-05:00February 18th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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