Economic Downturn and Recovery in Kentucky
Kentuckians Are Thankful for This Year’s Food Relief, But Hunger Isn’t Off the Table Yet
Thanksgiving is here and it is a time of celebration for families across the commonwealth.
Budget & Tax
Unprecedented Surplus Presents Opportunity to Both Reinvest in Kentucky’s Budget and Build Rainy Day Fund
Thanks to federal pandemic aid that helped keep Kentucky residents and businesses afloat, the state ended 2021 with a substantial revenue surplus, and currently expects another large surplus in the summer of 2022.
Build Back Better by the Numbers — What’s at Stake for Kentucky
KyPolicy Build Back Better info sheet
How Kentuckians Would Benefit from the Build Back Better Act
Kentuckians’ economic future and family well-being hinge on passage of the Build Back Better Act...
Record Surplus Creates Opportunity to Reinvest in Kentucky
Kentucky lawmakers will have a historic opportunity to begin putting the state back on track...
Criminal Justice
To Address Mass Incarceration, Kentucky Must End Perverse Incentives to Expand and Crowd Local Jails
The United States incarcerates 5 times more people per capita than other wealthy countries.
The Golden Key: How State-Local Financial Incentives to Lock Up Kentuckians Are Perpetuating Mass Incarceration
Incarceration is harmful to individuals, families and communities, yet Kentucky incarcerates 40% more people per...
The 2021 Legislative Session Criminal Justice Wrap Up: Some Important Wins that Should Be Built on to Achieve Systemic Change
This year, the Kentucky General Assembly took important steps forward in criminal justice with the...
The 2021 Legislative Session Saw Important Criminal Justice Progress, But We Must Continue to Work for Systemic Change
With Kentucky’s 2021 General Assembly now behind us, and with issues of police violence against...
Economic Security
Kentuckians Are Thankful for This Year’s Food Relief, But Hunger Isn’t Off the Table Yet
Thanksgiving is here and it is a time of celebration for families across the commonwealth.
Child Care in Kentucky Is Crucial and in Dire Need of Public Investment
Kentucky families need high-quality early child care and education to provide a safe learning environment...
Tracking SNAP in Kentucky
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a vital source of assistance that helps put...
The Improved Child Tax Credit in Kentucky Parents’ Own Words — and Why It Should Be Permanent
The enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has been...
Education
School Funding Task Force Recommendations Include Steps Toward Adequacy and Equity
In 2021, the Kentucky General Assembly created a School Funding Task Force to meet in the interim to review funding for K-12 education in Kentucky and other states and identify recommendations “to ensure the equitable and efficient funding of Kentucky’s common schools.” The recommendations released this week address several areas that need greater investment — including making full-day Kindergarten funding permanent, moving toward full school transportation funding, and increasing investment in Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSCs).
Private School Tax Credit Program at Odds With Kentucky’s Constitution
The framers of Kentucky’s constitution made crystal clear the state’s responsibility to provide for a...
Student Debt Relief Still Needed as College Year Begins in Kentucky
As another college year begins amidst a resurging pandemic, new Census data shows those struggling...
What to Know About Kentucky School Funding as Kids Head Back to School
Kids heading back to school this month will benefit from supports made possible by federal...
Health Care
Coalition Letter: Kentucky General Assembly Must Use Special Session to Protect the Health of Kentuckians, Our Workforce and Our Children’s Education
A coalition of Kentucky organizations sent this letter to the Kentucky General Assembly on September 3, and many new signatories were added in an updated letter (available as a PDF here) sent on September 7, 2021.
Medicaid Filled the COVID Coverage Gap
Last year when COVID-19 cases were escalating and the bottom fell out of the economy,...
The 2021 Legislative Session Health Care Wrap Up: Steps in the Right Direction
The 2021 General Assembly passed several measures that will improve the affordability and accessibility of...
Bills Capping Insulin Prices Could Help Many Kentuckians with Diabetes, Especially Those Who Struggle to Pay
House Bill (HB) 95 was signed by the governor and will provide much-needed help to...
Jobs & The Economy
New Federal Infrastructure Law Moves Kentucky Forward
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which the President has now signed into law, includes much-needed new investments in modernizing Kentucky's physical infrastructure.
Tracking the Economic Recovery from COVID-19 in Kentucky
As more Kentuckians are vaccinated, and as American Rescue Plan Act spending supports the economy,...
Understanding the Workforce Requires Being Honest About Work
The latest version of a decades-long narrative that Kentuckians lack the motivation to work now...
Honor Labor Day by Supporting Workers as if They Are Essential
Starting last year, as COVID-19 led people to social distance and quarantine, a new term...
