A couple weeks ago, I shared with my 2nd grade son that I was going to a strategic planning meeting to talk about how to make things better for the community. My son enthusiastically asked if he could go too. The idea of being a part of figuring out how to make things better for something he cared about excited him. I had to break the news to him that the meeting was during the [...]
Kentucky will hold elections for seats in both the Kentucky State Legislature and U.S. Congress in the upcoming mid-term elections on November 4, 2014. To help inform voters about the positions of the candidates, KET will be hosting debates for select U.S. Congressional races. The debates will air on KET at 8/7 PM on the following days: Oct. 6: U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd Congressional District Rep. John Yarmuth, Democratic Party Michael Macfarlane, Republican Party [...]
The implementation of Senate Bill 200, passed during the 2014 session, is underway, and the work reported so far shows great promise for the new law to truly transform the lives of children for the better. After several years of the Unified Juvenile Code Task Force meeting and the many weeks of negotiations as SB 200 moved through the legislative process earlier this year, the courts and state agencies have been working to change practices [...]
On Tuesday, we released the 2014 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book made possible with support from Signature Sponsor Passport Health Plan, Diamond Sponsors Kosair Charities and Delta Dental of Kentucky, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This report provides a picture of the status of children in Kentucky counties based on 16 indicators of child well-being. We hope state and local leaders will use the book to help evaluate what is going well for [...]
I have invited you to travel with me for over a month in exploring the 2014 National KIDS COUNT Data Book as it pertains to Kentucky. We have talked about the stellar progress in health; the mixed bag of results we find in education; and, the changing dynamics of family life as seen in the “family and community” domain. In today’s blog, we probe economic well-being which is a deep, overarching, and stubbornly persistent barrier [...]
I heard a great quote that has stuck with me for a couple years: “All a leader has to stand on is her results." This, to me, was so powerful and resonates with me when I think about my role as a child advocate. As you well know – children are waiting for us adults to get things right for them. They may not know it, but they are waiting for dentists and doctors to [...]
Today’s television programming seemingly brims over with a million options -- reality shows, partisan cable news, and food shows (And, yes, there are thankfully fifteen ESPN channels!). When I was growing up a million years ago, television programming was different to be sure. Three channels. Black and white. And the show options were “cowboys and Indians,” “Ed Sullivan” shielding America from Elvis’ dance moves and introducing us to the “lads from Liverpool,” and shows featuring [...]
When I tell people I work at a child advocacy organization, they often want to know more about what Kentucky Youth Advocates does. I explain that we want every Kentucky child to have the opportunity to succeed no matter where they were born or what family situation they are in. I explain that we work hard to ensure our elected leaders make policy decisions that are good for kids and families. And, I also explain what [...]
As referenced in my blog two weeks ago, I am inviting you to walk through the 2014 National KIDS COUNT Data Book, that was released on July 22nd, on an arena by arena basis over the next few weeks. The 2014 edition of “the nation’s report on kids” is especially fascinating to me as it is the silver anniversary. This gives us the opportunity to ask, “How are Kentucky kids faring compared to a quarter century ago?” This week the focus is on health and by any measure, Kentuckians [...]
A bipartisan bill was filed in Congress last month that is good for kids and even has the potential to reduce poverty. Sounds too good to be true, but it happened. Kentucky’s own Senator Rand Paul filed The Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment (REDEEM) Act with Democratic co-sponsor Senator Cory Booker. The bill makes changes to both the adult and youth justice systems that essentially allow people to move on with their lives and have a better shot [...]
