New Federal Rule Extends Free School Meals to Nearly All Kentucky Students
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced plans to expand free breakfast and lunch to nearly every school in...
Research
The Funding for Food and Formula for 120,000 Kentucky Kids and Moms Is at Risk
Vital nutrition assistance for nearly 120,000 Kentucky moms and kids remains at risk due to inadequate appropriations from Congress and the looming threat of a government shutdown. The Special Supplemental...
More Than 300,000 Kentuckians Have Been Charged for Cannabis Over the Past Two Decades
Over the past two decades, as states around the nation have moved to decriminalize and legalize cannabis, more than 300,000 people in Kentucky have been charged with a cannabis-related crime,...
The Funding Gap Between Kentucky’s Wealthy and Poor School Districts Is Now Worse Than Levels Declared Unconstitutional
The difference in per-pupil funding between the state’s poorest and wealthiest districts now exceeds the level deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court more than three decades ago. In 1990,...
Report: Criminal Fines and Fees Drive up Incarceration, Push Kentuckians Deeper Into Poverty
Excessive fines and fees imposed through the criminal legal system drive up incarceration and perpetuate poverty in Kentucky, according to new research from the Vera Institute of Justice. Local and...
New Federal Laws Can Create Opportunities in Kentucky, If We Act on Job Quality and Community Access
In recent years, Congress has passed several sweeping federal policies that aim to create jobs, modernize the economy and boost key industries. Early returns are promising in Kentucky, which is...
Kentucky’s Inflation-Adjusted Minimum Wage Now at Its Lowest Since 1950
Today marks 14 years since the federal minimum wage increased from $6.55 an hour to $7.25. For the dozens of states, including Kentucky, that have failed to boost the minimum...
Drop in Income Tax Receipts Is a Glimpse of Future Trouble
Five months into Kentucky’s experiment in reducing the individual income tax rate, the verdict is unsurprising. Cutting the rate is causing income tax receipts to fall despite low unemployment and...
13,000 Older Kentuckians Face Increased Hunger After SNAP Changes in Debt Deal
With the nation's second highest rate of food insecurity among people in their 50s, Kentucky will be hit especially hard by cuts in food assistance for older Americans included in...
Three Years of Kentucky’s Jobs Recovery in Four Charts
In April 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic bottomed out the economy, and Kentucky lost 294,900 jobs – or 15.0% of the workforce – in just two months. New...