children
Postpartum Medicaid expansion is the first step to maternal health equity, experts say
Arkansas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States: 43.5 deaths from 2018 to 2021 for every 100,000 live births, according to the latest federal data. But the state only extends postpartum Medicaid to 60 days after childbirth. A bill by Arkansas Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, aims to change that and would seek […]
U.S. remains a grim leader in preterm births. Why? And can we fix it?
Tamara Etienne’s second pregnancy was freighted with risk and worry from its earliest days — exacerbated by a first pregnancy that had ended in miscarriage. A third-grade teacher at an overcrowded Miami-Dade County public school, she spent harried days on her feet. Financial worries weighed heavy, even with health insurance and some paid time off […]
Postpartum depression bill has now cleared both Kentucky chambers
This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. FRANKFORT — A bill aimed at providing education and resources for new parents who may face postpartum depression has now cleared both Kentucky chambers. Senate Bill 135, sponsored by Sen. Shelley […]
Bill mandating detention, opening crime records of some juveniles has cleared both chambers
FRANKFORT — A Republican-backed bill that would reopen a juvenile detention center in Louisville and open some minors’ confidential records has now cleared both chambers of the Kentucky legislature. House Bill 3 passed the House in late February and the Senate on Tuesday along party lines, 29-7. Democrats argued unsuccessfully against the bill’s mandatory detention […]
Pandemic stress, gangs and utter fear fueled a rise in teen shootings
Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down. Diego’s mind changed at 14, when he and his friends were getting ready to walk to midnight Mass for the feast of Our Lady […]
Bill to ensure proper reporting of child abuse in Kentucky advances
FRANKFORT – A state Senate bill aimed at closing gaps in Kentucky’s child abuse reporting unanimously passed out of committee Tuesday morning. Senate Bill 229 “ensures the reporting of child abuse or neglect is properly communicated to the appropriate external agencies,” the primary sponsor, Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, told her colleagues in the Senate Families […]
Bills opening way for freestanding birthing centers in Kentucky await votes in both chambers
FRANKFORT — Katelyn Foust delivered her first child in a Louisville hospital. Though “nothing particularly went wrong, physically,” she said, “there definitely wasn’t that support aspect.” So, when it was time to have her second child, she traveled past Kentucky hospitals into Indiana to give birth at a Jeffersonville freestanding birth center. It was that […]
Food sanitation company fined $1.5 million for illegal child labor
A company responsible for cleaning meatpacking plants across the country has paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for making children as young as 13 work in dangerous conditions. The fine, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor, followed an investigation by the agency into Packers Sanitation Services Inc., at 13 plants in eight states, […]
Lawmakers want to bring Louisville juveniles home
FRANKFORT — While there’s bipartisan support for returning Louisville kids in the juvenile justice system to Jefferson County, at least two Louisville Democratic lawmakers said they would invest in preventive services rather than detention. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced House Bill 3, which provides $8.9 million to renovate and reopen a 40-bed Jefferson […]
Kentucky juvenile justice reforms have multi-million dollar price tags, state budget director says
FRANKFORT — State Budget Director and Executive Cabinet Secretary John Hicks told lawmakers Tuesday that the price tags to support executive branch reforms in the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice are $20 million in the next fiscal year’s operating budget and $26 million in the current capital budget. Amid discussions about Kentucky’s juvenile justice system, […]
Students could use KEES to pay for certificate programs under bill clearing House Education Committee
FRANKFORT — Four bills that clarify and expand existing programs in Kentucky schools moved forward in the legislative process. The bills, which are all sponsored by Republicans, received favorable recommendations from the House Education Committee Tuesday. Topics they address are dual credit courses, higher education scholarships, qualifications for classified school employees and insured student loans. […]
Federal report shows 11 children died from maltreatment in Kentucky in 2021
The number of Kentucky children who were victims of abuse or neglect improved in 2021, according to a new report, but the commonwealth’s is still worse than the national maltreatment rate. The Child Maltreatment 2021 report, from the United States Department of Health & Human Services, found that Kentucky had 14,963 child victims in 2021. […]