FacebookInstagramXYouTubeEmail

Young Children Do Not Belong in Juvenile Court

The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) released a new report highlighting the importance of establishing and, in some states, raising the minimum age for trying youth in juvenile court. There are currently 28 states, including Kentucky, that do not have a minimum age threshold, meaning that children as young as five or six can legally have their complaints brought before a judge. Despite a national decline in youth complaints (or arrests) over the last several [...]

By |2021-02-25T15:53:46-05:00February 24th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Youth Justice|
Read More

2021 Bills to Watch that Seek to Advance Race Equity for Kids

As our commonwealth works to overcome the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and systemic racism, Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children have a common vision of a brighter future for every Kentucky kid and their family. We are counting on legislative leaders to prioritize policies that advance race equity and address systemic racism in the current and future legislative sessions. We previously shared our commitment to ensure all policies within the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda [...]

By |2021-02-18T14:26:41-05:00February 18th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
Read More

Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 36 by the Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – With the Kentucky Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 36 today, Senator Whitney Westerfield once again is championing an efficient and effective juvenile justice system that holds kids accountable, helps them grow up to become contributing members of their community, and increases public safety. SB 36 seeks to expand court discretion when determining the transfer of youth to [...]

By |2021-02-11T17:07:33-05:00February 11th, 2021|News Room, Youth Justice|
Read More

Getting Down to Business: Growing Child Care to Grow Our Local Communities

If these uncertain times have taught Kentuckians anything, it is to value the essential services that so many of us took for granted. We might have never stopped to imagine a day without toilet paper or cleaning supplies, but we quickly realized the importance of our grocery workers when they filled their shelves. We might have never known what a blessing good health is until we depended upon our doctors and nurses to care for [...]

By |2021-02-17T08:36:35-05:00January 21st, 2021|Blog, Economic Security, Education|
Read More

2021 State Budget Update and Call to Action

The legislature has been in session since January 5th and during this time the Governor has shared his budget proposal and the Kentucky House of Representatives filed a continuation version of the budget to expedite the process within this short legislative session. A continuation budget is exactly what it sounds like – how can we maintain, or continue, the state budget that was developed in 2020 into 2021. The Kentucky House and Senate have both [...]

By |2021-01-14T18:40:16-05:00January 14th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Medicaid, Race Equity|
Read More

Addressing the Impact of Maternal Incarceration on Kentucky Children

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Addressing the Impact of Maternal Incarceration on Kentucky Children New Issue Brief Features Data Trends and Policy Recommendations LOUISVILLE, KY – A new Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children issue brief released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, Data Trends and Policy Recommendations to Address the Impact of Maternal Incarceration on Kentucky’s Children, shows that the number of women incarcerated has grown at an alarming pace in Kentucky in recent decades and that women [...]

By |2020-12-15T19:23:11-05:00December 16th, 2020|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, News Room, Race Equity|
Read More

Kentucky Families with Children Continue to Struggle During the Pandemic: New Data Show Challenges with Hunger, Housing, Health Insurance, and Mental Health

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org   Kentucky Families with Children Continue to Struggle During the Pandemic New Data Show Challenges with Hunger, Housing, Health Insurance, and Mental Health LOUISVILLE, KY — Too many Kentucky families continue to struggle with food security, ability to pay next month’s rent or mortgage, and mental health, according to Kids, Families and COVID-19: Pandemic Pain Points and the Urgent Need to Respond, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. [...]

By |2020-12-13T21:07:54-05:00December 14th, 2020|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health, Kids Count, News Room, Race Equity|
Read More

Advancing Racial Equity in the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children

Earlier this week, Kentucky Youth Advocates and our partners across the state announced the release of the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children state policy and budget priorities.  As our commonwealth works to overcome the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and systemic racism, the Blueprint’s common voice and common vision—that of a brighter future for Kentucky kids and their families—are more important than ever.   All priorities on the 2021 policy agenda all meet three criteria: grounded in data, have some expectation of feasibility in the 2021 [...]

By |2020-12-10T17:43:49-05:00December 10th, 2020|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
Read More

Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2021 Policy Priorities

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2021 Policy Priorities Louisville, KY – Today, Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners from across the commonwealth are launching the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children’s 2021 policy and budget priorities. The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a coalition of non-profit, public, and private organizations that stands on three pillars: thriving communities launch strong families, strong families launch successful kids, and successful kids launch a prosperous future for [...]

By |2020-12-10T17:42:29-05:00December 9th, 2020|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, News Room, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
Read More

OP-ED: Latinx Families Hit Especially Hard by COVID, But There is a Silver Lining

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal November 19, 2020. By Karina Barillas Karina Barillas, La Casita Center COVID-19 has brought the health of Kentuckians into focus and reminded us that we face a collective challenge to staying healthy and accessing the health care we need. The pandemic affects us all, but affects us differently, depending on resources, meaningful access to services and information, and privilege or knowledge about navigating health [...]

By |2020-11-23T14:06:52-05:00November 23rd, 2020|Blog, Economic Security, Health, Race Equity|
Read More
Go to Top