News Room

 Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates At a time when legislators are fighting yet another budget battle and taxpayers are paying more attention to the use of their tax dollars, HJR 5 takes a solid step toward making sure tax breaks are doing what they are intended to do. HJR 5, a bill relating to Economic Development Incentive Programs, directs the Legislative Research Commission to engage a consulting firm to study the effectiveness of economic development incentive programs and requires a report by Dec. 1, 2011. We thank House Speaker Pro Temp Larry Clark for championing this [...]

Tells Congress Best Approach to Reducing the Federal Deficit is to Protect Vulnerable Families, Promote Economic Recovery Jeffersontown, KY – At a time when over 208,000 Kentuckians are out of work, the U.S. House of Representatives’ approach to the federal budget fails the children and families who are struggling most with the recession, according to a new report by the Coalition on Human Needs for the SAVE for All campaign. The report draws a sharp contrast between the president’s budget for next fiscal year and the House plan for the remainder of this year, although it also notes serious concerns [...]

In a major effort to tap and foster state capital ingenuity, the Urban Institute has selected Kentucky as one of nine states to receive $250,000 each in planning grants as part of a five-year initiative with lead funding from the Ford Foundation. Kentucky, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina were chosen for first-year grants to test innovative ways to streamline services for low-income working families. Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said, “Kentucky families won today. This effort is yet another step in the Beshear administration’s commitment to expanding access to [...]

Jeffersontown, KY – More than 1,000 Kentuckians from across the Commonwealth are registered to attend Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Frankfort today. They will urge legislators to make Kentucky’s children a priority when making decisions this session and support priorities on the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a common agenda for child advocates across the state. “The Blueprint was created as a response to legislators who asked child advocates to come together around a concise agenda,” says Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “In order for Kentucky to improve our current ranking of 41st in the nation [...]

Jeffersontown, KY – In a major effort to tap and foster state capital ingenuity, the Urban Institute has selected Kentucky as one of nine states to receive $250,000 each in planning grants as part of a five-year initiative with lead funding from the Ford Foundation.  Kentucky, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina were chosen for first-year grants to test innovative ways to streamline services for low-income working families. Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said, “Kentucky families won today.  This effort is yet another step in the Beshear administration’s commitment to [...]

"HB 182 sponsored by Representative Darryl Owens failed to pass the House Banking and Insurance Committee today. The bill would have capped the effective interest on payday loans at 36%. While we respect the votes of the members of the House Banking and Insurance Committee, we think the committee neglected their responsibility to protect Kentucky's most vulnerable citizens. Representative Johnny Bell's bill in the 2009 General Assembly to institute a database has been a strong first step in protecting Kentucky families from loans that can quickly become a debt burden. Yet, the data from the database has shown that the [...]

 Statement by Lacey McNary, Deputy Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Jeffersontown, KY - “Today members of the House Education Committee took a simple yet profound step forward for children in Kentucky by supporting House Bill 89, voting to put key, aggregate data on body mass index to work and tackle rising levels of child obesity in the Commonwealth. We commend Representatives Tom Burch and Addia Wuchner for filing this important legislation. At this point, we really don’t have a good source of data to ensure that we are putting our resources in the counties that need them most or track [...]

Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates HJR 5, a bill relating to Economic Development Incentive Programs, directs the Legislative Research Commission to engage a consulting firm to study the effectiveness of economic development incentive programs and requires a report by Dec. 1, 2011. At a time when taxpayers are paying more attention to the responsible use of their tax dollars than ever before, this legislation is a solid step toward making sure tax breaks are doing what they are intended to do and we thank House Speaker Pro Temp Larry Clark for championing this important legislation. Passing [...]

Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates "Today the Kentucky House of Representatives stood up for kids across the Commonwealth by passing House Bill 225, which seeks to change the culture of our society and ensure that each child has a fair chance to graduate from high school. Today’s youth face an economy with daunting challenges and a highly competitive environment to find jobs. The best economic development tool is an educated workforce. Many adolescents who leave school early are entrenched in poverty and unemployment. Raising the compulsory attendance age translates into raising the standards and expectations in [...]

Statement by Tara Grieshop-Goodwin, Deputy Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates Jeffersontown, KY – “To bring Kentucky’s handling of our youth charged with status offenses in line with evidence-based best practices, HB 123 reduces the use of incarceration and ensures appropriate steps are taken prior to filing charges against the child.  We thank Representative Kelly Flood for championing this important legislation and Chairman John Tilley for his critical support. We commend the members of the House Judiciary Committee for voting to help our youth become contributing citizens. Kentucky detains youth charged with status offenses such as skipping school or running away [...]