Kentucky Youth Advocates Urges Lawmakers to Protect Early Childhood Education Programs for 7,000 At-Risk Children in Kentucky
Jeffersontown, KY – More than 300,000 low-income children—including 7,000 children inKentucky—are at-risk of losing federally funded early childhood services if Congress does not protect current investments in families and the American economy. With lawmakers set to approve a long-delayed FY 2011 budget in the coming weeks, Kentucky Youth Advocates is calling on Congress to maintain current funding for cost-effective early learning programs that provide immediate and future economic and social returns for individuals, taxpayers, and society. “We urge Congress to safeguard funding for Early Head Start, Head Start, and child care services in the FY 2011 budget,” saidLacey McNary, Deputy [...]
Joint Statement Issued on the 2nd Anniversary of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act
Contacts: Lacey McNary, Kentucky Youth Advocates, 502-895-8167 ext. 121, lmcnary@kyyouth.org Anne Joseph, Covering Kentucky Kids and Families, 859-323-4747, anne.joseph@uky.edu Jodi Mitchell, Kentucky Voices for Health, 502-552-1406, kvhexec@kyvoicesforhealth.org Frankfort, KY - Covering Kentucky Kids and Families, Kentucky Youth Advocates and Kentucky Voices for Health commend Kentucky’s efforts to maintain a lifeline to uninsured children during tough economic times. The three groups also called on the state to make the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) even more efficient. They issued the following joint statement on February 3, 2011: “This week marks the two-year anniversary of the federal Children's Health Insurance [...]
Call for EITC Awareness Excellent Reminder of What Kentucky Can do to Help Working Families
Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates on Governor Beshear’s Announcement of EITC Awareness Month After a whirlwind first week of the 2011 legislative session, the next few weeks serve as a good time for reflection on how good policy like the Earned Income Tax Credit can make a lasting impact on the well-being of families and children. Governor Beshear’s declaration of EITC awareness is an excellent reminder that establishing a state-level EITC is a real opportunity to help Kentucky families. A state EITC would boost the pro-family climate created with the federal EITC. Although the federal EITC [...]
Bill Filed to Raise Graduation Age
Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates 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. HB 225 seeks to change the culture of our society and ensure that each child has a fair chance to graduate from high school. Raising the compulsory attendance age translates into raising the standards and expectations in Kentucky among students, parents, school employees and the business community. Simply raising the mandatory attendance age [...]
Tax reform needed in Kentucky but we must ensure children and families’ interests are considered
Statement by Terry Brooks, Executive Director, Kentucky Youth Advocates on SB 1 We commend Senate President David Williams for calling for a review of Kentucky's inadequate and outdated tax system. We agree that Kentucky needs real tax reform. However, real tax reform needs to take into account the needs of all Kentuckians, and any legislative proposal should undergo full review. While many details in Senate Bill 1, co-sponsored by Senate President Williams and Senator Bob Leeper, have the potential to establish long-term fiscal health in the Commonwealth, we are concerned that as currently drafted their bill ignores the interests of [...]
County-Level Measures of Child Obesity Needed in Kentucky
Jeffersontown, KY – High rates of child obesity in Kentucky decrease the overall health and wellness of children today and will have profound health and economic consequences for the state in the future. A coordinated effort by school districts and public health officials to monitor children’s Body Mass Index (BMI), at the state and county level, is needed to improve our understanding of the problem, target resources, and track progress in obesity prevention. “Survey data shows that 1 in 3 children in Kentucky are overweight or obese. Yet that data is shown to be under-reported, meaning the situation could possibly [...]
Success Starts with Reading
Reading by the End of Third Grade Declared a National Priority Jeffersontown, KY – Sixty-four percent of Kentucky children in public schools are not proficient in reading, compared to 67 percent nationwide, according to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Annie E. Casey Foundation and a range of partners are focusing attention on the critical importance of achieving grade-level reading proficiency for all children by the end of third grade. The ability to read is central to a child’s success in school, life-long earning potential, and ability to contribute to the nation’s economy and its security. This [...]
Language Access Services in Health Care Still Lacking in Kentucky
Louisville, KY – One of the most basic requirements of high quality health care is the ability for health care professionals and their patients to be able to understand and communicate with each other. Despite federal law which requires health care providers to offer language access services to individuals who are learning English, many providers fall short, according to a report released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates. The report suggests that a statewide focus on improving interpretation and translation services would lead to significant improvements in health outcomes for children and families in Kentucky. “Effective communication between health care professionals [...]