children

At a McDonald’s in Kentucky, 10-year-olds worked past midnight, Department of Labor finds

BY: - May 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Children as young as 10 were found working past midnight at a McDonald’s restaurant in Louisville, the U.S. Department of Labor said in announcing numerous civil penalties levied on fast-food franchises. As part of an investigation into federal child labor law violations in the Southeast, the Department of Labor said that three separate […]

Postpartum Medicaid expansion is the first step to maternal health equity, experts say?

BY: - March 29, 2023

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?

BY: - March 20, 2023

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

BY: - March 15, 2023

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

BY: - March 14, 2023

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 […]

Bill to ensure proper reporting of child abuse in Kentucky advances

BY: - February 28, 2023

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

BY: - February 22, 2023

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

BY: - February 20, 2023

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, […]

Reps. Keturah Herron and Lisa Willner, both Louisville Democrats. Photo by Sarah Ladd for the Kentucky Lantern.

Lawmakers want to bring Louisville juveniles home

BY: and - February 15, 2023

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

BY: - February 14, 2023

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

BY: - February 14, 2023

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

BY: - February 13, 2023

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. […]