Children
Child poverty rates highest in states that haven’t raised minimum wage, including Kentucky
Of the 20 states, including Kentucky, that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates say that’s a sign that there’s an urgent need for […]
Kentucky moves to revoke license of psychiatric facility where 7-year-old foster child died
The Beshear administration moved Thursday to revoke the license of a residential psychiatric facility in Louisville where 7-year-old Ja’Ceon Terry, a foster child, died July 17 of positional asphyxia. The state immediately ceased placing children and youth at Uspiritus-Brooklawn Academy after the child’s death. On Thursday, state Inspector General Adam Mather ordered Uspiritus-Brooklawn Academy to […]
Too many pregnant Kentuckians and their babies lack access to care. Midwives say they could help.
During three of her four pregnancies, Laura Browning drove three hours round-trip past hospitals to get prenatal care from midwives in Lexington, the only place that offered what she needed.? She even made the trip while in labor with her first baby, feeling that “the care that I was receiving” from the midwives “was worth […]
Residential foster care in Kentucky is physically, mentally unsafe, say some who have been there
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
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 […]