The new Kids Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the percentage of Kentucky 3- and 4-year-olds ready for kindergarten has dropped 3 points since 2019 – from 51 to 48 percent. Shannon Moody is the chief officer of policy and strategy for Kentucky Youth Advocates, a nonprofit that advocates for the well-being of children. She said another finding also involves readiness for kindergarten and beyond.
“Sixty-three percent of our young children, who are three and four years old, are not in school, which is a decrease since the previous years that we've looked at.”
Other stats from the Kids Count report show Kentucky ranks 34th in economic well-being, 25th in education, 31st in health and 41st in family and community. Moody said two items aimed at addressing these and other challenges are on their General Assembly wish list next January:
“We hope that they will take some serious consideration around a child dependent tax credit and or a state refundable earned income tax credit. We know that we see a good return on investment of both of those strategies.”
Those proposals seem likely to have a better chance in the Republican-dominated legislature than Governor Beshear’s repeated calls for universal pre-kindergarten.
