Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 102 by the Senate Education Committee
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director, Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Senate Education Chairman Max Wise and the Kentucky General Assembly have a track record of pragmatically approaching the complex issue of safety of students in schools. In 2019, the School Safety and Resiliency Act thoughtfully balanced the well-being of students with their physical safety by prioritizing access to mental health services and promoting trauma-informed environments. During this time of heightened social and emotional needs, schools are needing to further elevate their efforts to identify signs of stress, anxiety, and depression and to respond [...]
Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 97 by the Kentucky Senate
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – One child who has experienced abuse or neglect, is one child too many – and a child fatality or near fatality should never happen in the first place. Yet, in 2020, there were 22 fatalities and 53 near fatalities due to substantiated cases of abuse or neglect in Kentucky. As the Commonwealth continues to reform the child welfare system, a critical component that must be considered is following the death of a child, and Senate Bill 97 seeks to do just that. SB 97, sponsored by Senator Danny Carroll and passed today by the [...]
Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 8 by the Kentucky Senate
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – The Kentucky General Assembly has a notable track record of stepping up for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, and that commitment continued today as the Kentucky Senate supported passage of Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams. SB 8 will impact children across the child welfare continuum – from child maltreatment prevention to investigation to healing and foster care. This legislation will create a uniform definition of child abuse and neglect, establish new membership of the State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, ensure victims of child maltreatment have access [...]
Hundreds of Advocates Rally on Behalf of KY Kids, featuring Gov. Beshear and legislative leaders
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Governor Beshear, House Speaker Osborne, and Senator Westerfield Join Hundreds of Youth and Advocates for Virtual Rally for Kentucky Kids Louisville, KY – Hundreds of youth advocates from across Kentucky are virtually convening this week for Children’s Advocacy Week. They are urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a unified agenda for child advocates across the state. Today, in place of the gathering in the Capitol Rotunda, advocates and state leaders tuned into the virtual Rally for Kentucky Kids. “Each year, Children’s Advocacy Week is a time for youth, parents, social workers, faith leaders, teachers, pediatricians, child care [...]
Bloom Kentucky Announces 2022 State Policy and Budget Priorities
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – Over one in five Kentucky children have experienced at least two Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as experiencing or witnessing violence, being separated from a parent due to incarceration, or having substance use present in the household. Bloom Kentucky is a collaborative initiative of grantmaking organizations from across the Commonwealth focused on statewide policy changes and budget investments that aim to prevent and mitigate the multi-generational impacts of childhood adversity so that every child can grow up happy, healthy, and hopeful. With the reconvening of the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly, Bloom Kentucky is releasing its state policy [...]
Statement on the Governor and the House State Budget Proposals
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – In Kentucky, we are used to arguing about dollars and cents in budgets that are restrictive, limited, and far too scarce – and that is tough work. This year, we are learning that arguing about dollars and cents in a budget that has unprecedented one-time federal dollars is also tough work. The needs of Kentucky’s kids simply must transcend that arguing and our leaders must craft a state budget that prioritizes immediate needs and upstream solutions. There is much to praise in [...]
OP-ED: A New Year’s resolution for the Kentucky General Assembly
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on January 2, 2022. By Dr. Terry Brooks This time of year, we all waver between setting New Year’s resolutions and simply dismissing the process as an inevitable failure. (Really? No snacks after 8 p.m.? I’m going to learn a new hobby? And, of course, I’ll be at the gym by 6 a.m. at least four mornings a week!) But “Psychology Today” lists several reasons why setting those new year’s goals are important: 1. Goals are how things get done. 2. Goals mean clarity. 3. Goals give us meaning. 4. Goals mean [...]
Statement on Governor’s Announcement on the DCBS Workforce
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Social workers play a critical role in the child welfare system by protecting the well-being of children and supporting families in need. Today, Governor Andy Beshear recognized that necessity by announcing the steps his Administration will be taking to reduce turnover within the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services and improve retention of a strong workforce. Each day, state social workers face critical decisions about the lives of these vulnerable children while working in stressful environments with high caseloads, safety concerns, and [...]
Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2022 State Policy and Budget Priority Agenda
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children 2022 State Policy and Budget Priorities Agenda Louisville, KY – Today, Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners from across the Commonwealth are launching the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children 2022 state policy and budget priorities agenda. The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a coalition of non-profit, public, and private organizations that stands on three pillars: thriving communities launch strong families, strong families launch successful kids, and successful kids launch a prosperous future for Kentucky. As the Commonwealth continues efforts to overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and address systemic racism, the Blueprint speaks with [...]
Statement on the Kentucky Board of Education’s Corporal Punishment Decision
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky students need learning environments that are safe and nurturing. Today, youth and advocates across the Commonwealth are feeling hopeful as the Kentucky Board of Education took steps toward that imperative by voting to limit the use of corporal punishment in all public schools. The Kentucky Department of Education had recently approved draft regulations for the state’s school board to consider on the use of corporal punishment in schools, citing the practice’s incompatibility with a less punitive approach to school discipline. KBE’s [...]