Kentucky Coalition For Healthy Children Newsletter |
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Working collaboratively on policies and practices in and around schools that promote equity and improve the physical, social, and emotional health and well-being of children, youth, and families. |
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The opinions and viewpoints expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the positions of all coalition partners. |
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This piece recaps Kentucky Youth Advocates’ priority bills benefitting Kentucky kids that went into effect July 14, as well as other positive bills and budget priorities.
Join Central Appalachian Network, in partnership with the USDA, for a six-part summit series examining “scalable solutions to creating community food systems” within central Appalachia. The first part took place July 28, but it’s not too late to register for the future dates.
Catch ThriveKY, “a coalition of organizations who pursue systemic change to assure that the commonwealth meets the basic needs of every Kentuckian” led by KCHC executive partner Kentucky Voices for Health, on the road this summer as they give state and federal policy updates on issues impacting the health and wellbeing of Kentuckians. The event should provide you with skills to advocate for public assistance programs through a strong safety net. Learn more about ThriveKY here.
Geared towards those working in children’s health or education, this year’s symposium will address the impact of prejudice on pediatric mental health. Topics include weight and appearance discrimination, discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, and discrimination based on immigrant status. This event will provide continuing education credits for many attendees.
The Bounce Coalition was recently featured in Community Rec Magazine for its partnership with the YMCA of Greater Louisville. Community Rec Magazine is a free business resource for YMCAs, JCCs, and community rec centers across North America. As prime out-of-school time and early childcare providers, community centers have the opportunity to be at the forefront of incorporating trauma-informed care in the health and recreation arena, especially for children. One organization that has taken the step to lead in trauma-informed care is the YMCA of Greater Louisville. Through its partnership with Bounce, the Louisville Y addressed organizational needs and participated in a number of professional development trainings including practice strategies and role playing.
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What's New in Children's Health |
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This brief from Child Trends provides insight into strategies Title X family planning clinics use to meet community needs, with a focus on adolescent education and partnering with schools to provide age-appropriate, medically accurate sexual and reproductive health education.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced a proposed rule strengthening civil rights protections when receiving healthcare for people in marginalized groups through implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This section “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in certain health programs and activities.” The proposed rule explicitly extends sex-based discrimination to include discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County.
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The House Committee on Education and Labor recently released the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, which is their proposed Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) bill. The bill would grant the USDA authority to issue waivers for federal child nutrition programs during federally-declared emergencies, increase the reimbursement rate for free meals, strengthen the community eligibility provision, increase funding for many important provisions, create grant opportunities for schools and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites, and more.
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Check out this podcast from School-Based Health Alliance in which teens discuss the problems facing them and their peers, ranging from mental health and body image to alcohol use and cyber addiction.
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Read this blog post from Action for Healthy Kids outlining the differences between two schools within the same city and showing the factors that lead to a significant disparity in school quality.
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This toolkit from Vaccinate Your Family contains video, graphic, and talking point materials in English and Spanish to encourage COVID-19 vaccination for children under 5. Graphics are available that address common misconceptions, such as prior infection reducing the need for vaccination. |
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The AXIS Program:
Centering All Services
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After seeing a growing need for mental health support for students, the Todd County School District, in collaboration with the Todd County Health Department, launched “The AXIS Program, Centering All Services,” in May 2021. The program is dedicated to providing on-site mental health support to students as well as continuing to address those issues at home and taking preventative measures to protect kids’ mental health. Through case management, the program can assess and address factors including nutrition, clothing, transportation, medical status, substance use, and more.
The free program operates on a referral basis. After reaching out to parents/guardians, case managers form an individualized plan for each student. Currently, more than 200 students use case management.
The AXIS case managers were crucial to gaining buy-in from the community. They participated in many school events at the start of the 2021 school year, offered home visits and group opportunities outside of school, and found other creative ways to engage with the community, including offering activities at the alternative school and afterschool/summer programs. Program leaders attribute the success of AXIS to early staffing choices, in that each manager brings an important skill set to the table. The school district and health department have also prioritized flexibility and were able to pivot when needed and advocate when necessary.
The AXIS team has continued to work with students over the summer and is preparing for the upcoming school year. Case managers will be active at the back-to-school events at each school to engage with families and the community about the program and its growth.
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“While AXIS always strives to connect families to existing resources and services, our program also provides direct aide when necessary. For this year, that has included assisting with transportation costs, food costs, housing costs, and daily living needs. We have done so by providing gas or food cards, and even providing a new mattress for a child who didn’t have one. We have also assisted with getting youth clothing and other items when resources through other programs were not available. We really like to ensure that a child has their primary basic needs met to ensure that they can focus on needs beyond that. Our ability to offer these resources and expand upon them has been enabled, thankfully, because of donations we have received from our community. Donations can be made directly to Todd County Health Department with the designation of AXIS program. All these donations go directly back into serving our Todd County students and even their families. The donations are not a part of the operational cost of the program and will be designated for use toward meeting students’ needs.”
Mark Thomas, Superintendent,
Todd County Schools
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Abby Dill, Case Management Supervisor for the AXIS Program
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Donations for the AXIS program can be sent as a check to the Todd County Health Department at:
PO Box 305
Elkton Ky 42220
(please mark the check as for the AXIS program)
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2022 Interim Session
Committee Meetings
Keep up with the Kentucky General Assembly during the 2022 Interim Session. The committee meeting schedule can be found here, and you can watch meetings live on YouTube (EDT).
Benefits Cliff Task Force
The benefits cliff occurs when a small increase in earnings results in a sudden and often significant loss of public benefits. Monitor the new Benefits Cliff Task Force this interim session as it assesses the impact of the benefits cliff on Kentucky families and make recommendations to address it, and read more about the task force and proposed policy interventions from Kentucky Youth Advocates.
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Kentucky Oral Health Coalition
- Being part of the collective voice to make a true impact on oral health in Kentucky.
- Networking and collaborating with diverse professional agencies and organizations at meetings and other related events.
- Voting on decisions including policy priorities, election of officers, and other coalition related decisions.
Watch this video on our new membership process and renew your membership or become a KOHC member today!
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Follow along as we make healthy, kid-friendly recipes with a focus on seasonal ingredients.
Try this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, designed to be easy and safe for young chefs to join you in the kitchen.
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Do you have an upcoming event or exciting news to celebrate with our coalition? Please email Chloe Atwater at Catwater@healthy-ky.org to be featured in an upcoming KCHC Newsletter! |
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Amalia Mendoza | KCHC Newsletter | 502-326-2583
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Current KCHC Steering Committee Member Organizations: |
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