Too Many Kentucky Young People Exit Foster Care Without Permanent Families and Unprepared to Thrive on Their Own
Too Many Kentucky Young People Exit Foster Care Without Permanent Families and Unprepared to Thrive on Their Own Fostering Youth Transitions 2023 Urges Improvements to Extended Foster Care Transition LOUISVILLE, KY – Permanent families and supportive adult connections, stable housing, and postsecondary education remain beyond the reach of too many young people with foster care experience, according to Fostering Youth Transitions 2023: State and National Data to Drive Foster Care Advocacy, a data brief released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. While the share of Kentucky youth aged 14 years and older in foster care has decreased since 2006, [...]
Statement on Failed Passage of HB 288
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – As the Kentucky General Assembly wraps up the final hours of the 2023 legislative session, an arena that would have had a true impact on the protection of children was left on the table. House Bill 288, sponsored by Representative James Tipton, disappointingly did not receive a final vote by the Senate today. The reality is that there will be kids who suffer over the next school year because of this failure to act on such a common sense and urgent piece [...]
Statement on Final Passage of HB 21
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – On the Kentucky Senate’s consent orders, House Bill 21 received final passage and will soon head to the Governor’s desk for signature. Youth and housing advocates are cheering as HB 21, sponsored by Representative Randy Bridges, updates Kentucky’s homeless ID law to allow unaccompanied youth to get an ID without parental permission. An ID is necessary to drive a car, get a job, open a bank account, apply for government benefits, sign a lease, qualify for a loan, pick up a prescription, [...]
Statement on Final Passage of Bills Impacting Juvenile Justice
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – There has seldom been such a transformative process around a major policy arena than what we have seen around juvenile justice in the 2023 General Assembly. We have been critical as recently as a year ago about both the process and substance of juvenile justice legislation. Therefore, it is especially important that we commend the process and the results of cornerstone juvenile justice reform this year. First, Representatives Kevin Bratcher and Jason Nemes are to be applauded for open minds and listening [...]
Statement on Final Passage of SB 150
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – As the ramifications of Senate Bill 150 with pieces of House Bill 470 in an amendment are dissected, reasonable folks from across the political spectrum agree on several tenets. First, this is not a Kentucky measure – the genesis of this measure springs from a national agenda of fearmongering. Secondly, gender affirming care is not about a twelve-year old deciding to get surgery. Instead, it's about providing age-appropriate health and mental health supports in professional settings to vulnerable young people. And finally, [...]
Statement from Kentucky Youth Advocates on Final Passage of Senate Bill 65
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Senate Bill 65 in its final form took a much needed and long-awaited rate increase for dental providers and left it steeped in ambiguity. It rips newly added access to critical dental services for some 900,000 vulnerable Kentuckians. And it will ensure that the Commonwealth continues to languish as one of the top five worst states for oral health in this nation. The genesis of this unfortunate piece of legislation is a raw partisan battle between the General Assembly and the Governor. Both branches of our [...]
Statement on Final Passage of SB 229
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – From prevention to recognition and reporting, every adult has a role to play in addressing Kentucky’s high rate of victims of child maltreatment. And at 6th in the nation in the rate of child maltreatment, the Commonwealth has made progress in this arena but still have a long way to go. With the Kosair for Kids Face It Movement policy team, we are celebrating today as Senate Bill 229 receives support from the Kentucky House as another step in that progress. SB 229 contains four critical pieces to [...]
Statement on Final Passage of SB 135
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – With passage by the Kentucky House today, Senate Bill 135 has received its final passage before it heads to the Governor’s desk for signature – good news for new parents and their babies. In Kentucky, over 90% of maternal deaths are considered preventable and more than 25% have mental health conditions as a contributing factor. State data highlights disparities among the cases of maternal mortality with the rate among Black women more than doubling that of White women. SB 135 requires the [...]
Statement on Passage of HB 21 by the Senate Transportation Committee
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – No matter what homelessness looks like for a young person – doubling up with friends and family to living in a hotel or shelter to living on the streets – they lack a fixed address and face significant barriers to accessing essential documents. With passage of House Bill 21 today by the Senate Transportation Committee, the Commonwealth is one step closer to addressing that barrier. HB 21, championed by Representative Randy Bridges, updates Kentucky’s homeless ID law to allow unaccompanied homeless youth [...]
Statement on Final Passage of SB 48
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Today’s passage of Senate Bill 48 by the Kentucky House underscores the General Assembly commitment to improving transparency and accountability within child welfare cases so there are better outcomes for the families impacted. We are especially applauding the leadership of Senator Stephen Meredith, who has championed this measure with emphasis on strengthening the child welfare system for all involved. The child welfare system, and specifically the process of substantiation of abuse and neglect, is complex, involves multiple departments, and can be subjective. [...]