Children
Kentucky Family Caregiver Program benefits restored
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
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 […]
Kentucky’s juvenile detention system still struggling with ‘critical staffing issues’
FRANKFORT — Despite salary increases, persistent understaffing is forcing a shuffling of Kentucky juveniles being held in detention. The Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice plans to move girls from a detention center in Campbell County to one in Boyd County for an estimated 90 days in response to staffing difficulties.? The boys being held in […]
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Indian Child Welfare Act in 7-2 decision
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a federal law aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes. The Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which established federal minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from […]
Louisville psychiatric facility settles with estate of child who died there after alleged abuse
Uspiritus-Brooklawn and the estate of 7-year-old Ja’Ceon Terry reached a private settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit, just days after the judge ruled that a former employee could override her confidentiality agreement and testify about mistreatment she said she witnessed while working there. Terry was taken into state custody in 2021 and later admitted to […]
Kentucky reverses loss of social workers in child and adult protective services
FRANKFORT – Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander is “cautiously optimistic” as caseload-carrying social workers in the Department for Community Based Services increased this year.? In December, Kentucky had 965 workers in adult and child protective services work, which increased to 1,023 in March and 1,042 in May.? This increase comes […]
Kentucky births increased last year bucking national trend
Fast-growing Texas and Florida had the biggest increases in the number of births last year, while a dozen other states — half of them in the South, including Kentucky — continued to rebound from pandemic lows. In the United States as a whole, however, the number of births has plateaued after a modest increase following […]
ACLU asks federal judge to block Kentucky’s ban on transgender medical care for minors
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and other plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to block part of a law they have said is the worst anti-trans bill in the United States.? The ACLU of Kentucky filed for a preliminary injunction Monday to block a section of Senate Bill 150, due to be implemented […]
At a McDonald’s in Kentucky, 10-year-olds worked past midnight, Department of Labor finds
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?
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 […]