By Chase Pasarella, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates, and the KYA Policy Team

As we move toward the final days of the Kentucky legislative session, the federal government has also been busy negotiating a budget bill. Late last week, Congress passed a continuation budget that funds government programs and offices at mostly current levels through September 2025. 

Since taking office in January, the Trump Administration and leaders in Congress have made it clear that priority initiatives are intended to be efficient and cost saving, but the reality of how these changes will impact individuals, families, and children remains largely unclear. As Congress considers substantial budget cuts this year, we’re diving into some of the programs that could most heavily impact Kentucky kids and families. 

Medicaid 

As Congress considers ways to reduce spending and align with the Administration’s priorities,  funding cuts within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are among the most likely. These cuts could take many forms, one of the most substantial would be a drastic reduction to the rate of reimbursement for states total costs. Cutting this rate would push significantly more spending onto the states forcing them to either decrease enrollment, offer fewer covered services, or both. 

Roughly 638,000 children in Kentucky receive care through Medicaid or CHIP and rely on these services to ensure access to preventive healthcare and treatment. 

SNAP and Nutritional Benefits 

Congress is considering significant cuts and changes to federal nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school meals. Among the proposals from Congress includes roughly $230 billion in cuts through 2034, largely from SNAP benefits, impacting millions of families nationwide who rely on food assistance for daily life. 

This bill stands to impact over 65,000 Kentuckians, including an estimated 21,400 children. This would have further consequences for the state by removing roughly $110 million in grocery assistance from local economies. 

Department of Education

As talk of gutting the U.S. Department of Education begins to increase, it is important to note just how impactful this action would be. Roughly 95% of children with disabilities currently receive their education in public schools across the country. In Kentucky, roughly 17% of public school students receive some sort of assistance in school through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The largest program currently funded by the Department of Education is Title 1, which provides extra funding for schools with high numbers of students from low-income families enrolled. While this program cannot be terminated without approval from Congress, it can be recategorized as a block grant, which could allow it to be phased out over a period of ten years or allow for a cap on the number of children accessing the program. 

Also within the Department of Education is the  Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces anti-discrimination laws against students protecting them from discrimination for reasons related to race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and ethnicity. Should this office be dissolved or significantly reduced, we could see these responsibilities fall on the states who would need to develop new procedures to effectively investigate allegations and claims of misconduct. 

Early Childhood Education

Also facing major cuts is Head Start – a program organized and overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services designed to assist children aged 0-5 living at or below the Federal Poverty Level and in underserved communities with free nutritional, learning, and family support services. 

Head Start currently assists roughly 40 million children nationwide and here in Kentucky, Head Start accounts for about 42% of child care in rural areas. The elimination of this program would cost families living below the poverty line an additional $12,000 per child per year for child care alone. This action would further strip dental care, health care, parental education courses, and formula and diaper disbursement from these needy families. 

Census Impacts

The U.S. Census Bureau oversees the data collection of the Census, which occurs every 10 years, and as well as many other surveys and data collection efforts in between. The Census is more than a survey of who lives where – it is used to understand the ways in which the country is changing and provides information for resource allocation that can influence decisions regarding everything from where supermarkets are built to the trauma level certifications for hospitals. 

Proposed changes to the way Census data is collected and how much funding the Census Bureau receives could result in Kentucky seeing impacts in federal funding for the purposes of health care, education, policing, and other measures. 

What’s Next?

As we continue to monitor changes from the federal government and potential impacts in Kentucky, we look to our leaders in Washington, D.C. to prioritize kids and families and ensure access to vital programs and services they rely on everyday.