Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates SB 60, sponsored by Senator Whitney Westerfield will better protect child victims of repeated abuse. Many children who have experienced repeated abuse over time, referred to as a continuous course of conduct, have difficulty remembering the details of each specific incident of abuse. This bill would accommodate a child’s more generalized testimony when a tragedy of repeated abuse occurs. It takes into [...]

Jeffersontown, KY - Hundreds of Kentuckians, including over 200 children and youth, from across the Commonwealth are convening in Frankfort today for the 12th annual Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol. They are urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children, a common agenda for child advocates across the state. "Given that we have a new Administration and interesting political dynamics at play, we know how important it is to ensure elected leaders remember the [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Jeffersontown, KY – An updated Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children issue brief Clearing the Air for All Kentucky Children was released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates. It affirms that children and babies across the Commonwealth are subject to immense dangers from secondhand smoke, particularly in communities without a strong smoke-free policy. Approximately 69 percent of Kentucky’s children live in a community that does not protect all children and pregnant women from [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Jeffersontown, KY – Every child needs a family and a safe place to call home. A new issue brief released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, Every Kentucky Kid Needs a Family, highlights the importance of keeping families together and placing children who cannot stay with their parents in family placements, such as kinship care and foster families. The number of Kentucky children in out-of-home care due to abuse or neglect [...]

Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Jeffersontown, KY – How are children faring in your county? Where does your county rank on overall child well-being? What has happened in the last 25 years in Kentucky to help kids succeed? Answers to these questions can be found in the 2015 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates. This is the 25th edition of the County Data Book. The 2015 County Data Book ranks [...]

The number of Kentucky children without health insurance fell by 27% over a one-year period. A new report by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families and Kentucky Youth Advocates commends Kentucky for moving up from 28th to 15th place in state rankings on children’s health care coverage. Children in both urban and rural areas saw improvements in their uninsured rates. “Kentuckians should be proud of this achievement for Kentucky’s children,” said Joan Alker, director [...]

New data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that more than one in every four Kentucky children live in poverty. The American Community Survey 1-year 2014 estimate showed 26.2 percent of Kentucky children lived in poverty, which was not a significant change from the 2013 estimate. However, the percent of Kentucky children living in poverty remains higher than when the recession began in 2008 (23.5 percent). "According to Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director [...]

New health insurance data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that health insurance coverage rates for both children and adults increased in Kentucky from 2013 to 2014. The one-year estimates from the American Community Survey revealed that 95.7 percent of Kentucky children under 18 had health insurance in 2014, compared with 94.1 percent in 2013. This is an estimated increase of 16,000 children. In addition, coverage for those under age 65, which includes [...]