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Understanding the Child Care Staffing Crisis

The child care industry has suffered huge financial obstacles during the past two years. The Center for Disease Control asked child care programs to increase their health and safety requirements in a way that required additional staff to serve the same amount of children. COVID-19 outbreaks caused programs to shutdown classrooms, or even the entire program, for weeks at a time causing significant losses in revenue. Despite all these financial obstacles, they are still secondary [...]

By |2022-05-20T11:45:39-04:00May 20th, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education|
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Update: P-EBT for 2021-22 School Year

Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) has been one of the most vital supports for children and families throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing grocery money to families who would have usually received free and reduced school meals. We are excited to share that Kentucky has received final federal approval for P-EBT benefits for the 2021-2022 school year. This round of benefits will be administered differently than previous rounds, so please read the following information carefully. Kentucky Youth Advocates [...]

By |2022-06-02T15:48:26-04:00May 3rd, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education|
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OP-ED: Lots of Questions for the 2022 KY General Assembly

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on April 21, 2022. By Dr. Terry Brooks In a press conference before the historic launch of Apollo 11 to the moon, Neil Armstrong was asked about the answers he hoped to discover with his moonwalk. He responded by asserting that he will likely have more questions to ask than answers. That is how I feel as we leave the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly – I have a whole bunch of [...]

By |2022-04-21T10:44:40-04:00April 21st, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Continued Advocacy Needed to Curb Youth Vaping

Throughout the 2022 General Assembly, Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) advocated for policies that are good for Kentuckians’ health, including measures aimed at preventing youth tobacco and e-cigarette use. We know that more than 1 in 4 Kentucky high schoolers use e-cigarettes and the instances of youth using tobacco products has spread into many Kentucky middle schools.  These products pose a number of health risks and ultimately lead to many Kentuckians dying prematurely. New research adds [...]

By |2022-04-20T13:58:27-04:00April 20th, 2022|Blog, Health|
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Wins & Missed Opportunities for Kids in the 2022 General Assembly

The final gavel has fallen for the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly! This year, the Governor and the Kentucky General Assembly were tasked with crafting a two-year state budget, tackle redistricting, advance policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic, tax reform, and other policy priorities that would be good for the communities they represent and the Commonwealth. If we take a second to reflect, that’s a heavy lift in a long 60-day session. There was good news [...]

By |2022-04-20T16:29:28-04:00April 20th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Deep Dive into House Bill 7 + What It Means for Kids and Families

Safety net programs, including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (K-TAP), play a critical role in making sure families struggling to make ends meet can have food to eat, cover basic family needs, and access critical supports and services needed to be healthy and thrive. This is especially important as new evidence emerges [...]

By |2022-04-19T16:58:54-04:00April 19th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health|
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Statement on Passage of House Bill 499 by the House Appropriations & Revenue Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director, Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – An important step in improving child care access for families was taken today with passage of House Bill 499 by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. The measure, sponsored by Representative Samara Heavrin, seeks to establish the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership, an innovative program encouraging employers to assist employees with the cost of child care. We know Kentucky [...]

By |2022-03-17T19:24:36-04:00March 17th, 2022|Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security, Education, News Room|
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Guest Blog: Benefits of Establishing the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership

By Mandy Simpson Here's what we know: Kentucky families are struggling to afford child care. With annual costs reaching up to $11,000 for one infant, this is the largest expense in too many Kentucky homes. Parents are being forced to choose between their careers and caring for their children—and we know which choice they're making. A lack of access to child care is a primary contributor to Kentucky's labor shortage and chronically low workforce participation [...]

By |2022-03-10T17:16:26-05:00March 1st, 2022|Blog, Economic Security|
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Help Families Claim the 2021 Child Tax Credit!

Over one million Kentucky families can claim the second half of the expanded Child Tax Credit this tax season, which is open until April 18!  The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 made big changes to the Child Tax Credit, expanding eligibility to cover an estimated 93% of Kentucky kids and splitting the credit into two halves. Eligible Kentucky families received the first half of the expanded credit through monthly Child Tax Credit payments that [...]

By |2022-02-03T13:47:03-05:00February 3rd, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Race Equity|
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Celebrating the 2022 Champions for Children

Elected leaders and advocates step up for Kentucky kids in countless ways every day, especially in Frankfort throughout the legislative session. During Children’s Advocacy Week, Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners in the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children present Champion for Children and Step Up for Kids awards to honor those state leaders and advocates for their efforts. At this year’s Rally for Kentucky Kids, we honored several members of the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly for [...]

By |2022-01-28T11:33:35-05:00January 20th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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