children
U.S. appeals court agrees to block central part of new Title IX gender rules for schools
A federal appellate court has upheld blocking central parts of new Title IX rules from the Biden administration and granted an expedited hearing in October.? A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Wednesday to block the rules from taking effect Aug. 1, shortly before most schools begin their academic year. […]
Kentucky ranks low in women’s health and reproductive care
As the worst of COVID-19 subsided in 2022 and a trigger law banning most abortions went into effect upon the fall of Roe v. Wade, Kentucky was already among the worst-performing states for women’s health.? This insight comes from The Commonwealth Fund’s 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care, a first-of-its kind ranking […]
In a win for dogs like Ethan, first offense animal torture now a felony in Kentucky
Legislators and advocates who pushed for years to make dog and cat torture a felony on first offense gathered in the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday to celebrate a new Kentucky law that does just that.? House Bill 258, also called Ethan’s Law, allows a person to be charged with a Class D felony the first and […]
Kentucky panel that reviews child deaths has full board for first time in several years
If you suspect child abuse or neglect, call the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Child Abuse Reporting Hotline at 1-800-752-6200.? Kentucky’s Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel has a full complement of members for the first time in several years, analysts told members of the Legislative Oversight & Investigations Committee Thursday. For […]
Auditor’s office calls Beshear’s ‘hope’ to ‘work through’ database dispute ‘disingenuous’
Gov. Andy Beshear said he hopes his administration and state Auditor Allison Ball’s office “can work through” access issues around a database in a Thursday press conference.? Earlier this week, Ball, a Republican, sent a “demand letter” to Beshear, a Democrat, and Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander over access to the […]
Kentucky auditor, cabinet clash over access to child abuse database as new law takes effect
FRANKFORT — The legislature last year moved responsibility for a watchdog office and child support enforcement from the Beshear administration to Republican officeholders.? Barely out of the gate, one of the transitions is stumbling over a disagreement about access to a child abuse database.? Republican Auditor of Public Accounts Allison Ball on Tuesday sent what […]
‘Tip of the iceberg:’ Kentucky releases domestic violence data report
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.? Over a seven-month period last year, there were nearly 27,000 alleged cases of child abuse with a […]
For child care workers, state aid for their own kids’ care is ‘life-changing’
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Child care worker Marci Then, 32, looked over at two 4-year-olds in her care who were tussling over a toy plate in a model kitchen set. “Are we sharing?” she gently asked them. They both let go. Then works at Little Learners Academy child care center near Providence, Rhode Island. Her daughter, […]
‘Flabbergasted:’ Help for kinship care families passed unanimously. $20M price tag could derail it.
A funding dispute between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican lawmakers threatens to delay long-awaited financial relief for grandparents and other kinship caregivers who are raising children in Kentucky.? Beshear signed and says he supports a new law that allows relatives who take temporary custody of a child, when abuse or neglect is suspected, to […]
US Supreme Court review of gender-affirming care for youth could impact Kentucky law
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review a challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth could have implications for a similar law in Kentucky.? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal asked the court to review the Tennessee law after a ruling by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. […]
Trauma, poverty, COVID-19 causing high rates of chronic absenteeism in Kentucky?
The number of Kentucky youth who are chronically absent from school skyrocketed during the 2022-2023 school year.? The reasons for chronic absenteeism are interconnected and complicated — and the negative fallout potential is widespread, from mental health to the economy.? Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff and child welfare advocates point to the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
Multiplying trauma: Kentucky set to add more kids to its troubled juvenile jails
A state law taking effect next month will require more kids charged with violent offenses to be held in Kentucky’s troubled juvenile jails — at a time when all eight of the youth detention centers are under federal investigation for possible abuses. That worries Devine Carama, who directs the One Lexington program to tackle gun […]