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CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY DAY

  On February 17^th Amy Lapinski, Linda Engel, Leni Sweet and myself visited

Frankfort for the 7^th Annual Children’s Advocacy day. Kentucky continues to rank in the bottom 10 among states for child well-being.  Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol began in 2004 as an effort to unite  advocates to raise their voices for children’s safety, health, education, and economic well-being.  Hundreds of advocates from over 50 counties gather at the Capitol yearly to ask legislators to invest in kids.  1300 people attended this year’s advocacy day.  Because of the effort put forth during this legislative session, the following legislation occurred:

 

House Bill 264 passed the House and Senate and is on its way to

the Governor for his signature. This bill requires a children’s health

advisory committee that reports to administrators and policymakers.

 

House Bill 173 passed the House. This bill would have begun to address

that Kentucky locks up youth for things like missing school or running

away from home more than any other state except one.

 

House Bill 225 passed the House.  This bill would have raised the

mandatory age of school attendance from 16 to 18 years old and improved

the quality of alternative schools, which currently lack appropriate

standards to ensure students are learning with sufficient resources.

 

Amy, Linda, Leni and I met with Senators Denise Harper Angel, Tim Shaughnessy  and  Kathy Stein to discuss other concerns as well.

 

Sandi Friedson, SPA