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Earned Income Credit in Kentucky: It’s About Families

At a recent meeting of community advocates I had the opportunity to participate in an activity wherein all participants took a few moments to brainstorm slogans, logos, or catchphrases in support of enacting an Earned Income Credit (EIC) in Kentucky. Although we represented a diverse array of organizations, all attendees support enacting a state-level EIC and, as such, my first inclination was that all of our respective responses would be more or less similar to [...]

By |2013-11-18T15:49:34-05:00November 18th, 2013|Blog, Economic Security|
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New KIDS COUNT Report finds Critical Investments Should Target the First Eight Years of Life

Jeffersontown, KY — The KIDS COUNT policy report, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success, co-released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates, presents a strong case for investing in quality early learning opportunities and supporting parents to ensure their young children are on the right track for success. The first eight years of a child’s life are critical for developing needed emotional and cognitive skills for [...]

By |2013-11-04T00:01:06-05:00November 4th, 2013|News Room|
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It takes a lot to get by in Kentucky

It’s pretty clear by now that families across Kentucky are still struggling in the wake of the recession. Although unemployment has been decreasing, the number of children in poverty continues to climb, as does the number of households relying on food stamps to feed their families. Times are tough and they don’t appear to be getting much better. Last week, the Economic Policy Institute released their updated Family Budget Calculator (which you can check out [...]

By |2013-07-10T16:10:17-04:00July 10th, 2013|Blog, Economic Security|
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Remember the original meaning of “The Pursuit of Happiness” this Independence Day

“The pursuit of happiness.”  That phrase animates an essay by Jon Meacham in the most recent edition of TIME. It made me remember Mary Kay Tachua – the most brilliant professor I ever experienced.  More than forty years ago, an administrative error at the University of Louisville put Dr. Tachua as the professor of an undergraduate section of American History.  Dr. Tachua was renowned as a graduate professor; social activist; and, perhaps on special and [...]

By |2013-07-03T12:12:32-04:00July 3rd, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|
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Poverty Today is the Polio of the 1950s

  Clasp.org discusses the polio epidemic of the 1950s that crippled tens of thousands of people every year – and was eliminated by 1979 due to a massive public health effort. The post also highlights that the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Task Force on Childhood Poverty recently declared that childhood poverty is on par with polio in the 1950s as the most important problem facing American children today. While the APA Task Force acknowledges that there is no [...]

By |2013-05-21T10:38:10-04:00May 21st, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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A Sure-Fire Bet for Kentucky Kids

When it comes to March Madness, I think I am an expert.  I look at every rating system known to mankind.  I compare offensive and defensive efficiencies of each team.  I analyze the relative strength of every conference.  And the result?  Well, all four granddaughters beat me (and the two youngest are only three years old!) but I did edge out my four year old grandson in our family bracketology contest!  When it comes to [...]

By |2013-05-02T11:55:19-04:00May 2nd, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|
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Children Need Love, Support, and Better Federal Policies

Seemingly every week or month, there is new research about how poorly children are faring in the United States. In a New York Times op-ed last week “The Kids Are (Not) All Right,” Charles Blow highlighted a report from Unicef – “Child Well-Being in Rich Countries.” The United States ranks the worst among wealthy nations for child well-being and ranks particularly poorly on child poverty, being overweight, and “life satisfaction.” Meanwhile, President Obama released his [...]

By |2013-04-24T15:17:44-04:00April 24th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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Remember the Benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit on this Tax Day

For the last few months, I've been volunteering as a tax preparer with the Louisville Asset Building Coalition, helping individuals and families who earn less than $50,000 prepare their taxes.  I’ve seen young students filing and single, working moms who are simultaneously raising children and going to school file taxes. I’ve heard stories about individuals falling on hard times in the last few years, and met one person who was working his way out of homelessness. As families across the state and [...]

By |2013-04-15T13:09:25-04:00April 15th, 2013|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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Annual Rankings Show Where Kentucky Counties do well and Opportunities for Improvement

Health does not exist in a vacuum. Health is impacted by more than having health insurance and going to the doctor. The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps project, a partnership between the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, understands this. They work to understand what’s making people sick or healthy and then figure out what communities can do to impact that. According to the newest annual rankings released today, Oldham County has [...]

By |2013-03-20T11:04:36-04:00March 20th, 2013|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Youth Justice|
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Oldham County is Healthiest in State; Floyd County is Least Healthy, According to Annual Rankings

Jeffersontown, KY- Oldham County has the healthiest residents in Kentucky and Floyd County is the least healthy county in the state, according to the fourth annual County Health Rankings, released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). The Rankings are available at www.countyhealthrankings.org. The County Health Rankings rank the overall health of nearly every county in all 50 states. Terry Brooks, executive director at Kentucky [...]

By |2013-03-20T10:55:47-04:00March 20th, 2013|News Room|
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