What is Recidivism and What Can Be Done to Reduce It?
Policy discussions around the need for criminal justice reform like those happening in our state right now often feature the...
Budget & Tax
Kentucky’s Schools Face Funding Challenges as Kids Head Back to School
As kids return to school across the Commonwealth, they face continued frozen state funding that amounts to a reduction once inflation is taken into account. The lack of state funding...
Five Takeaways from Kentucky’s Year-End Revenue Results
Revenue receipts are in for June 2016, the final month of Kentucky’s last Fiscal Year (FY), showing modestly strong General Fund growth of 3.7 percent since 2015. Here are five...
Rising Kentucky Prison Population Should Make Penal Code Reform a 2017 Priority
The governor’s announcement today about the formation of a Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council to work toward needed reforms is an important step in addressing a serious problem in our...
Understanding Pension Contributions in the Final Budget
The issue of pensions for Kentucky public employees and teachers is complex, and the two main pension systems — the Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS) and the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System...
Undermining Kentucky’s Foundation Not a Lasting Solution to Pension Challenge
Following the governor’s vetoes — which included eliminating thousands of college scholarships for low-income Kentuckians — the new state budget for the next two years is now set. While the...
Governor Vetoes Need-Based Scholarships for Thousands of Students
Governor Bevin vetoed $40.3 million in funding for need-based college scholarships contained in House Bill 10, meaning denied aid for nearly 22,000 low-income students that had been awarded by the...
Child Care Assistance and Preschool Improved in Budget Agreement
The two-year budget agreement now being considered by Governor Bevin made incremental but substantial changes to the state’s two main investments in early childhood care and education (ECCE). The state’s...
New Early Childhood Education Report Highlights Benefits of Investment
Too little funding for early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Kentucky means that quality care is too expensive for low-income families, and remains unaffordable for most Kentuckians. A new...
General Assembly’s Budget Includes Critical Scholarship Investments
The final budget agreement that passed the legislature includes significant new investment in the state’s college scholarship programs. Over the biennium, the funding increase for Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority...