One-Fourth of Kentucky's Children Impoverished

Yesterday, the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training announced that the unemployment rate fell in 99 Kentucky counties between November 2011 and November 2012. But parents taking second or third minimum-wage no-benefit part-time jobs isn't solving the real problem.

Laura Ungar at the Courier:

A quarter of Kentucky children live in poverty — more than 240,000 across the commonwealth.

And those numbers are on the rise, according to a new report prepared for release today.


They are among the statistics in the Kentucky Kids Count 2012 County Data Book, a joint project of Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville. The annual report examines indicators such as poverty levels, educational performance and child health, and paints a disturbing picture of child welfare in Kentucky.

“Kentucky ranks 35th in the country in the overall well-being of children,” said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, referring to the state’s ranking in the national Kids Count report. “With the big game coming up this weekend, I don’t think the fans of the University of Louisville or the University of Kentucky would be satisfied if their team was 35th in national rankings.”

Touche, Terry.  But Kentucky taxpayers put a shitload more money into college sports than we do into eliminating poverty - or even attempting to alleviate it.