Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on SB 120 Passing Senate Judiciary Committee
Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing SB 120, sponsored by Chairman Whitney Westerfield, to give adults who have served their time the opportunity to get back to work and care for their children. Kentucky has the highest rate in the nation of children who have experienced a parent being incarcerated, and SB 120 will help limit the negative impact incarceration has on those children. SB 120 is an important step in criminal justice reforms that will help adults reentering the community after incarceration [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 180 Passing Senate Health & Welfare Committee
Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We thank the Senate Health and Welfare Committee for unanimously passing HB 180, sponsored by Chair of the House Health and Family Services Committee Representative Addia Wuchner, to allow close family friends to serve as kinship caregivers. When a child must be removed from their home, placement with a close family friend eases the trauma of removal. HB 180 prioritizes what’s best for the child during a difficult time of transition. We thank Chairwoman Julie Raque Adams, and we also thank the First Lady’s Office [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 180 Passing Kentucky House
Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We thank the Kentucky House for passing HB 180, sponsored by Chair of the House Health and Family Services Committee Representative Addia Wuchner, to allow close family friends to serve as kinship caregivers. Placement with a close family friend, also known as fictive kin, can help reduce trauma when children must be removed from their home due to abuse or neglect and can be a vital alternative to foster care. We also thank the First Lady’s Office and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services [...]
Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 180 Passing House Health and Family Services Committee
Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We applaud the House Health and Family Services Committee for passing HB 180, sponsored by Committee Chair Representative Addia Wuchner, to allow close family friends to serve as kinship caregivers. This type of placement with a close family friend offers a beneficial alternative to foster care and helps to relieve trauma children often face upon removal from their home. We appreciate the work of the First Lady’s Office and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in supporting this bill and helping vulnerable kids find [...]
Nearly 1,000 Youth and Advocates Join President Stivers and Other Elected Leaders for 13th Annual Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol
Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org JEFFERSONTOWN, KY – Hundreds of Kentuckians from across the Commonwealth, including over 200 children and youth, are convening in Frankfort today for the 13th annual Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol. They are urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children, a common agenda for child advocates across the state. "This is a moment when many seem to focus on what divides us at a state and national level. In a remarkable contrast, the issues around kids give elected leaders and citizens a real chance to find common ground and common-sense solutions," said Dr. Terry [...]
Statement in Response to Governor’s State of the Commonwealth Address
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 859-496-5524 Jeffersontown, KY - There was no more profound point in the Governor’s address than his clarion pledge to fundamentally reform Kentucky’s child welfare system. The commitment to tackle issues from foster care to adoption, from child abuse to family supports, can be a game changer for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable kids. And opportunities abound in efforts like family preservation, kinship care, and the transition out of foster care. Making that commitment a reality will require legislative action, Executive Branch leadership, and community-based engagement by faith communities, nonprofits, and caring neighbors. An encouraging reminder that kid issues [...]
Keeping Kindergartners Out of Court
Contact: Mara Powell 859-496-5524 mpowell@kyyouth.org JEFFERSONTOWN, KY – A new issue brief released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, Keep Kindergartners Out of Court: More Effective Responses to the Behavior of Young Children, highlights the importance of responding appropriately to young children who get in trouble to build safer communities and more successful kids. “Kids whose favorite book is Green Eggs and Ham can be charged with a crime in Kentucky,” said Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “We need to hold kids accountable for mistakes, and we also need to recognize that what works for young kids is [...]
Place, Income and Race Impact Kentucky Children’s Opportunity to Thrive According to the KIDS COUNT 2016 County Data Book
Contact: Andrea Bennett 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org JEFFERSONTOWN, KY – The Kentucky KIDS COUNT 2016 County Data Book provides a snapshot of children by county, including county-level rankings of child well-being based on 16 different indicators. The counties with the highest rankings on child well-being include (in order) Oldham, Boone, Spencer, Woodford, and Ballard Counties. Detailed data are available for every county in Kentucky. Please click here for your county’s profile. This year’s book goes a step further and examines how children fare based on where they live, how much their family earns, and the color of their skin. It highlights solutions for [...]
Access to Oral Health Care in Kentucky Has Increased, Yet Children Face Pressing Oral Health Needs
Contact: Emilee Coomes, BoxcarPR 502-797-5058 Emilee@boxcarpr.com Andrea Bennett, Kentucky Youth Advocates 502-381-1176 abennett@kyyouth.org Access to Oral Health Care in Kentucky Has Increased, Yet Children Face Pressing Oral Health Needs New Report Highlights Findings of 2016 Oral Health Study of Kentucky's Youth Jeffersontown, KY - Access to oral health care has increased since 2001, yet more children face urgent dental needs, according to a new study co-released today by Delta Dental of Kentucky and Kentucky Youth Advocates. The report, Making Smiles Happen: 2016 Oral Health Study of Kentucky's Youth, presents findings of the first oral health surveillance study of Kentucky children in [...]
New Data Shows Child Poverty Persists in Kentucky
New data released today by the U.S Census Bureau reveals that more than one in four Kentucky children still live in poverty. The American Community Survey 1-year estimate shows 25.9 percent of Kentucky children lived in poverty in 2015, which was not a significant change from the 2014 estimate. This estimate reveals that the percent of Kentucky children living in poverty remains higher since the recession began in 2008 (23.5 percent). “We know the data tells the same story year after year–that poverty remains the biggest problem in Kentucky—and that’s because nothing has changed,” said Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director [...]