Kentucky Youth Advocates

COMMENTARY

What now? Child care in Kentucky faces a cliff as pandemic-era federal aid has ended

BY: - November 21, 2023

Rylee Dakota Monn’s salary as a day care teacher mostly went to pay for child care for her own two sons. “I was working full time but I wasn’t making any money for myself or making much of a contribution to the household,” said Monn, who works at Baptist Health Child Development Center in Lexington. […]

Unheard: Foster kids say they were hurt in state residential care in Louisville. Few were believed.

BY: - November 17, 2023

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. It is republished from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and Louisville Public Media.  This story contains discussions of sexual assault and the abuse and deaths of children. It was around 3:30 a.m. and most of the other residents at the Home of the Innocents were still […]

How are Kentucky’s kids faring? New report offers education, health insights

BY: - November 15, 2023

Fewer Kentucky kindergarteners were ready to learn in the 2022-2023 school year than in 2018, according to a new report that measures child welfare.  This insight comes from the Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book, released by Kentucky Youth Advocates Wednesday. Kids Count is part of a national initiative from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. […]

Kentucky Family Caregiver Program benefits restored

BY: - August 2, 2023

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story mislabeled the restored program. More eligible people who are raising their grandchildren will receive benefits through the Kentucky Family Caregiver Program, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday.  All 15 of the state’s Area Development Districts (ADD) will be able to participate in the program, Beshear said, thanks to […]

Kentucky issues first statewide report of domestic violence data

BY: - July 6, 2023

If you or someone you know has experienced domestic violence, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.  You can also contact any of Kentucky’s 15 domestic violence programs.  Almost half of Kentucky women — 45% — and around 36% of men in the state say […]

Disparities persist among Kentucky youth in juvenile justice system

BY: - June 20, 2023

Black and multiracial youth in Kentucky are more likely to have complaints brought against them – essentially, police reports – and are disproportionately detained, Kentucky Youth Advocates staff told legislators in Frankfort Tuesday.  Cortney Downs, the chief equity officer for Kentucky Youth Advocates, said to the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council and the Commission on Race […]

Eltuan Dawson, who is a member of the True Up Peer Network; Shontelle Davis (researcher for the report); Cynthia Schepers, peer coach coordinator with Kentucky Youth Advocates and True Up Kentucky; and Tamara Vest (participant of the report and a social work intern with KYA).

Residential foster care in Kentucky is physically, mentally unsafe, say some who have been there

BY: - December 2, 2022

One young adult remembers taking a daily allergy pill upon entering a Kentucky residential foster care facility and leaving “on 13 medications within six months.” Another lost the privilege of calling their mother after a riot at their location.  These were among the experiences 46 young adults shared with Kentucky Youth Advocates’ researchers, who examined […]

State should not withdraw safety net as disasters compound childhood trauma, advocates say

BY: - November 30, 2022

In 2020, more than 1,000 Kentucky children were physically abused, more than 15,000 were neglected and almost 800 were sexually abused.  Experts say these numbers, which come from a new Kentucky Youth Advocates report on adverse childhood experiences, are only what’s reported. They’re likely worse.  Adverse childhood experiences, more commonly known as ACEs, refer to […]