Kentucky

On April 12th, Vote Kids launched a advertising campaign in Louisville Kentucky. The ad supports investments in children and advocates for Senators Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell to support President Obama’s budget because it invests in programs that strengthen the safety net for children. Watch the ad:

The following is background information about what Congress has done for children so far this year and how Kentucky’s senators have voted on these important investments.

Why do Kentucky’s Children Need a Strong Safety Net?

82,000 Kentucky children are without health insurance, more than 63,000 are reported abused and neglected each year, and 235,000 live in poverty’s grip. Too many children are falling through the cracks and not getting the opportunities they deserve.

How Have Kentucky’s Senators Have Voted on Important Children’s Legislation in 2009?
Jim Bunning (R)

Mitch McConnell (R)

What Are the Budget Issues Facing Kentucky?

In 2009, Kentucky faces a $456 million budget gap representing 4.9% of the general fund.

How Many More Children Will Be Covered by the Expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program?

The expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program will provide coverage to as many as 47,100 previously uninsured Kentucky children.

What the Federal Stimulus Law Will Mean for Children in Kentucky

The economic stimulus recently passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by the Obama Administration will provide significant investment in the health, education, and safety of America’s children over the next two years. It also provides significant support to their parents and grandparents. Highlights include:

• $1,030,000,000 in relief for Kentucky’s Medicaid costs. Medicaid provides health care coverage for low-income children and seniors.
• $532,800,000 in relief to the state of Kentucky to prevent cuts to programs for school-aged children.
• $196,800,000 for the Title I academic achievement of the disadvantaged program.
• $166,600,000 services to children with disabilities in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding.
• $36,000,000 for other education programs in Kentucky’s schools.
• $427,000,000 in food stamps for 681,000 Kentucky men, women, and children.
• $18,600,000 in emergency shelter grants for 5,000 households.
• 238,000 Kentucky children will benefit from the child tax credit provisions of the legislation.
• $34,898,644 in Emergency Child Care and Development Block Grant funds to provide child care to 5,040 Kentucky children.
• An increase in unemployment benefits to 245,753 Kentucky families.
• $16,300,000 in additional child support enforcement matching funds.
• $17,900,000 in youth training employment services.

What Will the President’s Budget Mean for America’s Children?

The President’s budget goes even further in making needed investments in children. Highlights include:

• Continuing to cut taxes for the families of millions of children through an expansion and continuation of the Child Tax Credit.
• Making the $2500 American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent to help kids afford college.
• Making a down payment on the President’s “Zero to Five” plan – providing $1.1 billion to double the number of children served by Early Head Start over two years, an additional $1 billion to expand and improve Head Start, and an additional $2 billion in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The Budget sustains critical support for young children and their families by building on these investments.
• Creating the Nurse Home Visitation program, which will provide funds to states to provide home visits by trained nurses to first-time low-income mothers and mothers-to-be.
• Rewarding excellent teachers by making additional investments in state and local efforts to implement systems that reward quality performance and help less effective teachers improve or exit the classroom.
• Increasing health care coverage for children. An expansion to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was just enacted in law and will provide coverage for an additional four million children on average in CHIP and Medicaid who are now uninsured. The budget proposal will implement this law quickly and aggressively to help families whose children are at risk of losing coverage in this weak economy.
• Strengthening nutrition assistance. The budget supports a strong Child Nutrition and WIC reauthorization package that will ensure that low-income children receive the nutrition assistance they need and help end childhood hunger by 2015.
• Preventing teen pregnancy. The Budget supports State, community-based, and faith-based efforts to reduce teen pregnancy using evidence based models.
• Providing energy assistance to low-income families. The Budget provides $3.2 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help low-income families with their home heating and cooling expenses. In addition, the Budget includes a new trigger mechanism to provide automatic increases in energy assistance whenever there is a spike in energy costs.
• Increasing funding for the Project-Based Rental Assistance Program. This will preserve approximately 1.3 million affordable rental units through increased funding for contracts with owners of multifamily properties. This critical investment will assist low- and very low-income households in obtaining decent, safe and sanitary housing in private accommodations.