Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today the House Health and Welfare committee passed House Bill 475, sponsored by Representative Rita Smart, which ensures the safety of children in two settings children often find themselves. The first includes being in the care of a babysitter. Parents need ways to ensure that their child is safe with the person caring for them in their home. Having the ability [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Our youth justice system works best when youth are held accountable for actions and also have a chance to get back on track to becoming productive adults. Today, we applaud the steps of Senator Whitney Westerfield and the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing SB 294 out of committee to help youth who messed up be able to succeed as adults. [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing HB 40 to allow expungement for certain low-level felonies. We also thank Representative Darryl Owens for sponsoring the bill. We especially appreciate the work of President Stivers and Senator Westerfield for their work on language that will help the bill move forward this year. Approximately 13 percent of Kentucky children have lived [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Given tough budget economic times, there are several needs children and families face on a daily basis, and we know the state budget impacts children in a number of ways. However, one of greatest needs is ensuring parents have opportunities to work in order to provide for their families. The Child Care Assistance Program is one of the key ways [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We thank Senator Whitney Westerfield for bringing forward SB 270 with the goal of utilizing data to promote equitable treatment of our youth of color. SB 270 ensures that all systems who care for our youth - education, child welfare, and youth justice - will collect and report race, age, and gender specific data across these systems.  Much work has [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Kentucky children deserve the safest environment in which to learn. SB 194 strengthens the safety of children at public schools. While public schools already conduct criminal background checks, many substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect are not prosecuted criminally for a variety of reasons. SB 194 brings public schools in line with what child care and child caring agencies [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Transparency can be an important aspect of child welfare and court systems but it must result in better outcomes for children and the system as a whole. We applaud Senator Julie Raque Adams for sponsoring SB 40 to create a pilot project to open courts in child welfare cases. This is an opportunity to start small and evaluate the impact [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Some 2 out of 3 Kentucky 4th graders do not meet national standards for reading, and 7 out of 10 Kentucky 8th graders do not meet national standards in math. Those kind of results highlight the need for a fundamental reform of public education in the Commonwealth. SB 1 delivers that fundamental reform. SB 1 places a priority on learning [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates When it comes to the child welfare and court systems, transparency has merit, but it must result in better outcomes for the children affected. That's why we support SB 40, sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams to create a pilot project to open courts in child welfare cases. This is an opportunity to start small and learn from that opening [...]

Jeffersontown, KY - While any assessment of Governor Bevin's budget proposal this evening will require more time to ensure accuracy and understanding, there are a remarkable number of "bright spots" for Kentucky's kids and families. As an example, a specific "bright spot" is around the First Lady's initiative around child advocacy centers. What more vulnerable citizen can there be than an abused child? Additionally, the increase in the numbers of social workers, the emphasis on reduced case [...]