Nearly 1,000 Youth and Advocates Join Governor Bevin, President Stivers and Other Elected Leaders for 14th Annual Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org (o) 502-895-8167 *122 (c) 859-496-5524 JEFFERSONTOWN, KY – Hundreds of Kentuckians from across the Commonwealth, including over 150 children and youth, are convening in Frankfort today for the 14th annual Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol. They are urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children, a unified agenda for child advocates across the state. "Today, youth, faith leaders, teachers, social works, pediatricians, elected leaders, and many others unite to ask our leaders to make Kentucky children a priority during the 2018 legislative session and while crafting the state budget. Kids’ issues give elected leaders and citizens [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on Governor Bevin’s State of the Commonwealth and Budget Address
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates The real takeaway from tonight’s address from Governor Matt Bevin is a question: What kind of commonwealth do we want to be? Is it one in which needed protections for kids are absent and a rising tide of poverty is pervasive? A place where families struggle to stay together and early investments for kids fall to the wayside? Or will we as a commonwealth move towards an environment in which current challenges do not cloud a brighter vision for the future of Kentucky kids? A [...]
Elected Leaders, Youth, and Advocates to Gather for Children’s Advocacy Day on Thurs, Jan 18
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Elected Leaders Join Youth and Advocates for Rally on Behalf of Kentucky Children Thursday, January 18 at 10 am Jeffersontown, KY – Hundreds of youth advocates from across Kentucky will gather in Frankfort on Thursday, January 18, 2018 for Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol. They will urge legislators and other elected officials to make Kentucky children a priority during the 2018 legislative session and while crafting the state budget by supporting the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children policy agenda. What: Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol Rally Advocates will present 2018 Champion for Children awards to the following elected officials: Senate [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on CMS Approval of the Bevin Administration’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the Bevin Administration’s 1115 Medicaid Waiver to modify Kentucky’s Medicaid Program. The key to this significant policy change’s success or failure lies in its implementation. Kentucky HEALTH’s initial roll-out and on-going administration must be family-centric. When it comes to this – or any policy – our question is always the same – “Is it good for kids?” There is much in this plan to applaud when it comes to young people. As [...]
New Year, New Legislative Session, New Website
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org New Year, New Legislative Session, New Website Jeffersontown, KY – Kentucky Youth Advocates is excited to announce the launch of our refreshed website, which will provide a wealth of resources throughout the 2018 legislative session. The new website has been designed to provide advocates with improved navigation and functionality across the site. The refreshed layout offers quick and easy access to a variety of tools and resources that allow advocates to stay up-to-date on policies that are good for kids, the latest research and data from KIDS COUNT, ways to be an advocate for Kentucky kids, [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on the KY House Adoption Work Group Recommendation
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, the Kentucky House Adoption Work Group presented recommendations after their eight-month study. First, we appreciate the work of Representative Meade, Representative Jenkins and all members of the Work Group on this critical and complex issue. It is a real compliment that this bipartisan group of leaders had the persistence and vision to dig into perhaps the most pressing issue for kids in Kentucky. The recommendations affirm the broad agreement of needed reforms to improve how state entities respond to and care for [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on the Kentucky Justice Reinvestment Work Group Recommendations
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Only one other state in the country has a higher rate of parental incarceration than Kentucky. At 15%, the Commonwealth has nearly double the national average of children who have experienced a parent incarcerated. That fact alone affirms the Kentucky Justice Reinvestment Work Group’s efforts to redefine the criminal justice system to protect public safety while addressing the growing prison populations, high recidivism rate, and escalating costs. It’s clear that the Commonwealth must make improvements when it comes to incarceration. We must hold [...]
2017 KIDS COUNT County Data Book Introduces County-Level Benchmarks for Child Well-Being
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org 2017 KIDS COUNT County Data Book Introduces County-Level Benchmarks for Child Well-Being The 2017 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book offers the latest data on 17 measures of child well-being, showing whether outcomes for children have improved, worsened, or stayed the same over a five-year period. It also calculates how many children would be impacted if Kentucky was able to make just a 10 percent improvement for each measure. Detailed data is available for every Kentucky county. Click here to view county profiles. “The message behind the KIDS COUNT data is clear: giving children opportunities [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on U.S. House Passage of CHIP Funding Extension Bill
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Today, the U.S. House passed the Championing Healthy Kids Act to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program for five years. We thank the House of Representatives for taking action on this critical five-year CHIP funding extension and moving the bill forward. However, we are concerned with how this bill proposes to finance the funding extension for the CHIP program, specifically by making cuts to prevention and public health funding. We now call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the full [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on Court Decision on Financial Support for Kentucky Relative Caregivers
Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 EXT 122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Every kid deserves a family and a safe place to call home. When a child experiences the trauma of being removed from their home due to abuse or neglect they need support from caring and capable adults who have the resources to meet their needs. Relative caregivers often provide a safe alternative for kids who cannot remain safely with their parents. Today, the Supreme Court denied the appeal of the 6th Circuit Court’s January ruling to allow relatives providing foster care for children [...]