COVID-19 Impacts on the Kentucky Child Welfare Community: A Public Health Crisis Meets a Vulnerable System
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we share report findings and facilitate conversations on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child welfare system. In the spring, Kentucky Youth Advocates, in partnership with Casey Family Programs, set out to get a better understanding of how the public [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: An Update on the Federal Advocacy Landscape
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, Terry Brooks is joined by Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus on Children, to discuss the landscape of ongoing federal advocacy needs for additional COVID-19 relief for Kentucky kids and families. This is part of a series of conversations where we examine [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: Supporting Children with Special Needs
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum we discuss the challenges facing kids with special needs and their families during COVID-19, including shifting services during quarantine, increased needs within schools, preschools, and the home, and opportunities for budget investments and policy changes. Panelists include Dana Eckert, Case Manager with [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: Hunger and Food Access
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, Terry Brooks was joined by Dr. Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture; Leah Feagin, Vice President of the Kentucky School Nutrition Association; and Kate McDonald, KY Kids Eat Coordinator with Feeding Kentucky. They discuss challenges and bright spots in [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: Landscape for Policies, Practices, and Systems Changes to Advance Racial Equity
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, advocates from across the state heard a discussion on changes in policies, practices, and systems that will advance racial equity for Kentucky kids and their families. Panelists include Karina Barillas, Executive Director of La Casita Center; Dr. Kish Cumi Price, Director of [...]
What Gets Measured Gets Changed: A Conversation with Kentucky Young People
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, advocates heard from three young people from Barren, Harlan, and Jefferson counties about their unique experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, how the National KIDS COUNT data is reflected in their lives, and ideas for improving outcomes for every Kentucky child. This is [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: A Conversation with DCBS Commissioner Marta Miranda-Straub
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, Terry Brooks was joined by the recently appointed Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services, Marta Miranda-Straub. DCBS includes a number of human services, such as public benefits, child care, child welfare, and more. They discuss challenges and opportunities and [...]
Release of the 2020 National KIDS COUNT Data Book
Terry Brooks shares Kentucky's measurable, but still inadequate, improvements in child well-being as highlighted in Annie E. Casey Foundation's latest KIDS COUNT Data Book, how this data can be used as a guidepost as advocates and decision makers thoughtfully move forward from the immense and disparate impacts of the [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: The Realities Facing Parents Returning to Work
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum we discuss the challenges of parents/caregivers returning to work and how employers and state systems can best support those parents. Panelists included Clanisha Coleman, Shawnee Club Director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana; Bill Londrigan, President of Kentucky AFL-CIO; and Ashli [...]
COVID-19 and Kentucky Kids: The Future of K-12 Education
This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum we continue our conversation on the future of K-12 education amidst the pandemic with the Kentucky Board of Education, including Chair, Dr. Lu Young, and member Patrice McCrary. They discuss the considerations for the 2020-21 school year, commitments to addressing inequities within [...]
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