Children’s Health
Working to improve children’s health, safety and well-being.
Children are the driving force for a healthier Kentucky.
Healthy Kentucky works to improve the physical, social and emotional health of our next generation through partnerships and engaging communities with innovative strategies to build healthier and more equitable places where children can attain their optimal health and well-being.
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Five-year goal: Reduce the proportion of children and youth with obesity in Kentucky.
In Kentucky, 25.5% of youth ages 10 to 17 have obesity, giving Kentucky a ranking of 2 among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The CDC says obesity results from a combination of causes and individual factors such as behavior (diet, physical activity, medication use) and genetics. Other contributors include access to food, the physical environment (safe sidewalks, walkable communities), education, and even food marketing.
Obesity can cause poorer mental health outcomes and reduced quality of life, and it is associated with leading causes of death in the U.S., such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.
Healthy Kentucky is fighting for strong nutrition standards in schools and increasing the number of Kentucky students participating in school nutrition programs.
In addition, Healthy Kentucky calls for increased physical activity by requiring quality and daily physical education in schools for all students.
Learn about our campaign to prevent type 2 diabetes in kids!
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Five-year goal: Increase the proportion of trauma-informed elementary and high schools, as well as access to behavioral health services and supports for children and youth.
Since 2012, Healthy Kentucky has funded demonstration projects in urban and rural schools across the commonwealth focused on building resilient communities.
Traumatic experiences in childhood impact a person’s lifelong health. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) include abuse, neglect, and family or household changes that create toxic stress during childhood.
Lifelong impacts on health and overall well-being include chronic health problems, mental illness and substance use problems. Further, ACEs can negatively affect educational attainment, job opportunities and earning potential.
Toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development, impacting attention, decision-making, learning and response to stress.
One in 5 Kentucky kids (22%) has experienced at least two ACEs — ranking 14th in the nation.
Research has shown people with six or more ACEs had a shorter life expectancy by nearly 20 years.
The CDC says preventing ACEs could reduce a large number of health conditions including heart disease and depression.
ACEs can cause a generational cycle of challenges for families. Preventing ACEs and mitigating their impacts can lead to healthier individuals and families, thriving communities, and a prosperous Kentucky.
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Five-year goal: Increase the proportion of elementary and high schools providing comprehensive tobacco-use education and supports for prevention and cessation.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in Kentucky.
The Commonwealth has the second highest adult smoking rate, and 1-in-4 high schoolers and 1-in-5 middle schoolers report using tobacco, including e-cigarettes.
Kentucky spends $1.92 billion annually in health care costs due to smoking.
Healthy Kentucky supported the tobacco-free school campus bill that resulted in an increase of school districts covered by comprehensive tobacco-free campus policies from 74 to 166 (97% of all districts).
To eliminate barriers to creating tobacco-free campuses, the Healthy Kentucky and and Kentucky Medical Association partnered to provide signage for districts.
Learn about the real dangers of vaping, watch videos and download resources here.
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Five-year goal: Increase policies, practices and programs that promote health equity for children and counter discrimination.
Our collaborations to achieve the above goals include:
Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children (KCHC)
The Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children is a space for a diverse group of organizations to share expertise and information, identify and promote policy priorities, best practices and programs, organize campaigns, and mobilize advocacy efforts.
The Coalition has developed policy priorities using the comprehensive Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child approach and embraces the objectives for children’s health in the Healthy People 2030 initiative.
Healthy Kentucky serves as the backbone organization and chair of KCHC.
Visit the Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Children’s website to learn more.
Bloom Kentucky
Bloom Kentucky is an initiative supported by some three-dozen grant-making organizations across the commonwealth who are all investing in preventing and mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences.
The initiative is focused on statewide policy change to prevent and mitigate ACEs.
Partnership for a Resilient Kentucky (PaRK)
Kids’ Interface and Network for Healthy Development (K.I.N.D.)
Networking for Kentucky’s Youth
Prichard Committee Equity Coalition
Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow
Healthy Kentucky serves as the backbone organization of this partnership of diverse stakeholder groups from across the Commonwealth.
The Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow is active in advocating for evidence-based policies that increase the number of Kentuckians covered by comprehensive tobacco-free ordinances, reduce adult tobacco use, reduce youth initiation and access to tobacco, and increasing funding for prevention and cessation programs.
Visit the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow’s website to learn more.
Community Farm Alliance Healthy Communities
Healthy Kentucky supports Kentucky Double Dollars and Fresh RX for Moms programs.
Farm to School Network
Kentucky Food Action Network
Shaping our Appalachian Region (SOAR)