Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today’s youth face an economy with daunting challenges and a highly competitive environment to find jobs. The best economic development tool is an educated workforce.  Many adolescents who leave school early are entrenched in poverty and unemployment.  HB 225 seeks to change the culture of our society and ensure that each child has a fair chance to graduate from high school. Raising the compulsory attendance [...]

Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates on SB 1  We commend Senate President David Williams for calling for a review of Kentucky's inadequate and outdated tax system. We agree that Kentucky needs real tax reform. However, real tax reform needs to take into account the needs of all Kentuckians, and any legislative proposal should undergo full review. While many details in Senate Bill 1, co-sponsored by Senate President Williams and Senator Bob [...]

Jeffersontown, KY – High rates of child obesity in Kentucky decrease the overall health and wellness of children today and will have profound health and economic consequences for the state in the future. A coordinated effort by school districts and public health officials to monitor children’s Body Mass Index (BMI), at the state and county level, is needed to improve our understanding of the problem, target resources, and track progress in obesity prevention. “Survey data [...]

Louisville, KY – One of the most basic requirements of high quality health care is the ability for health care professionals and their patients to be able to understand and communicate with each other. Despite federal law which requires health care providers to offer language access services to individuals who are learning English, many providers fall short, according to a report released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates. The report suggests that a statewide focus on [...]