child abuse

Children Won in the 2014 KY General Assembly

Children Won in the 2014 KY General Assembly

The 2014 Kentucky General Assembly wrapped up late last night. The day after, a review of the action taken by legislators in Frankfort this year shows major accomplishments for Kentucky children. Thank you to the many bill sponsors, leaders on budget issues, Governor Beshear, President Stivers, Speaker Stumbo, other members of House and Senate leadership, and all legislators that helped make these accomplishments possible! What do these wins mean? SB 176, sponsored by Senator Denise [...]

By Tara Grieshop-Goodwin|2014-04-16T14:54:12-04:00April 16th, 2014|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

Thanks Governor Beshear for stepping up for kids in your budget

Thanks Governor Beshear for stepping up for kids in your budget

Budgets always require tough choices, and on Tuesday, Governor Beshear built on his previous commitment to kids around health and high school graduation and became “the Children’s Governor” because of the choices he made, the priorities he established, and the values he exemplified. In what is arguably the most historic budget address for kids in the Commonwealth in decades, Governor Beshear laid out an agenda that is as smart as it is bold. He tackled [...]

By Terry Brooks|2014-01-23T09:42:14-05:00January 23rd, 2014|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

Child-fatality panel needs more openness and independence

Child-fatality panel needs more openness and independence

This post originally appeared in the Herald Leader here. A recent Associated Press article gave Herald-Leader readers a look inside of a growing priority amongst the Thoroughbred community in the Bluegrass — how to better protect horses from the inherent risks of "1,000-pound Thoroughbreds stampeding down the racetrack." One of the emerging solutions in addressing equine well-being is to establish a horse-fatality review commission. That group, according to the article, would "dig into the details [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-07-02T10:00:11-04:00July 2nd, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Become a volunteer with KY’s Citizen Review Panels

Become a volunteer with KY’s Citizen Review Panels

Are you looking for a way to improve the lives of children and families in Kentucky as well as those who serve them? Kentucky's Citizen Review Panels for Child Protective Services are currently seeking volunteers. The Panels are groups of volunteers who are federally mandated to review Kentucky’s child protection system and make recommendations for improvements in policy, practice, and procedure. Citizen Review Panels are located in the Southern Bluegrass (Lexington and surrounding counties) and [...]

By Patricia Tennen|2013-06-10T14:03:49-04:00June 10th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Gov. Beshear Needs to Reverse Cuts to Kinship Care and Child Care Assistance

Gov. Beshear Needs to Reverse Cuts to Kinship Care and Child Care Assistance

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on May 22, 2013. You can find it online here. It was not as dramatic as scenes in Frankfort can be. There was neither a gallery of cameras nor the moment of confrontation between elected leaders. But on Tuesday, a very important event took place in Frankfort. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services held a public hearing regarding the recent cuts to kinship [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-05-22T10:41:35-04:00May 22nd, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|

Kids, Families and State Budget Debates

Kids, Families and State Budget Debates

There is a swirl of speculation about the topic. Is the Governor going to call a special session, and – if so – what will be on “the call?” Or what are the priorities emerging at this very moment in Cabinet-level planning for the 2014-16 budget? Any talk about budgets offers us both hope and worry. Will it spotlight the very real need for fundamental and systemic changes in the state’s tax and budget structures [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-04-25T11:04:15-04:00April 25th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|

Child Abuse: A Community Solution

Child Abuse: A Community Solution

Last Thursday, April 11, Terry Brooks spoke at the Rotary Club of Louisville on child abuse. April is Child Abuse Prevention month as we've previously mentioned on the blog. We hope this video of Terry's speech inspires us to all play a role in ending child abuse. A first step is to become an ambassador of the Face It Movement, which is a recently launched campaign by Kosair Charities to end child abuse in our [...]

By Andrea Bennett|2013-04-17T11:10:22-04:00April 17th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Child Abuse Prevention Month: We Can All Face It and Make a Difference

Child Abuse Prevention Month: We Can All Face It and Make a Difference

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month – commonly marked by citizens rallying across the Commonwealth and the nation to raise awareness of the prevalence of child abuse in our communities. Yesterday, Kentucky Youth Advocates joined Kosair Charities and several other partners at Slugger Field in Louisville for a rally to end child abuse. The rally also served as the official launch of the Face It campaign, a ten-year initiative led by Kosair Charities to end [...]

By Amy Swann|2013-04-10T16:15:11-04:00April 10th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

General Assembly Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Wrap-Up Part II: The Unleashed Version

General Assembly Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Wrap-Up Part II: The Unleashed Version

To view Part I of this post, click here. My birthday is December 25. That makes birthday traditions and Christmas customs mingle together a bit. But one birthday tradition leaps out. It arrives every December in a large Styrofoam box packed with lots of dry ice. And at the bottom of that crate sit – like precious jewels – artisan made bratwursts! When my wife and one of our good friends were on a trip [...]

By Terry Brooks|2013-04-04T11:03:06-04:00April 4th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|

General Assembly Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Wrap-Up Part I: The Objective Version

General Assembly Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Wrap-Up Part I: The Objective Version

Tomorrow Terry Brooks, our executive director, will talk on our blog about how kids fared in Kentucky’s General Assembly this year. While I assume everyone will want to read that version, I wanted to provide a slightly more boring, but objective version of what happened in 2013 for kids in our legislature. Kentucky Youth Advocates is part of the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children which is a collaborative of multiple child serving partners from across Kentucky [...]

By Andrea Bennett|2013-04-03T17:13:58-04:00April 3rd, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|