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Kentucky Senate budget short of what child care advocates say they need • Kentucky Lantern

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Kentucky Senate budget short of what child care advocates say they need • Kentucky Lantern


FRANKFORT — Child care advocates applauded elements of the Kentucky Senate’s budget, unveiled Wednesday, but said lawmakers have not gone far enough to save the struggling industry. 

The proposed child care spending is a “monumental investment,” said Sarah Vanover, a policy and research director for Kentucky Youth Advocates. 

“We appreciate the fact that this is more than what the House had delegated, that we’re moving in the right direction,” she told the Lantern. “We can build off of what is in this budget, but it’s not there yet.” 

The Senate’s budget bills cleared the Appropriations and Revenue Committee Wednesday morning and were approved 37-1 by the full Senate later in the day.

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Sarah Vanover (Kentucky Lantern photo by Isabella Sepahban)

Kentucky’s child care industry — which some are working to rebrand under an “early childhood education” umbrella — is counting on a boost from the 2024 legislative session as federal COVID-19 dollars that helped stabilize the industry during the last few years are running out. This leaves many centers to cut pay for their workers, raise tuition for parents, cut services and even close. 

Without help from the General Assembly, Kentucky could lose more than a fifth of its child care providers, the Lantern has reported. 

The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy previously estimated that $300 million is needed to replace the federal aid that’s ending. The state Department for Community Based Services says the need at closer to $100 million. 

With the state help that is proposed in the House budget — a $52 million a year increase — experts estimated 16,000 kids could lose access to child care in 2024.

With the Senate’s proposal, according to Vanover, that number is 14,000. 

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In his December budget proposal, Gov. Andy Beshear pitched spending $141 million over the next two years to stabilize the child care industry, as well as $172 million to begin funding universal preschool for Kentucky 4-year-olds.

What is the Senate proposing? 

Charles Aull, executive director of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Center for Policy and Research, said “there’s some really good progress in the Senate budget proposal.” 

“From my perspective, it looks like the Senate has worked really hard to identify … how much General Fund dollars from the state actually need to be kicked in in order to continue some of the important changes that were made to CCAP (Child Care Assistance Program) over the past couple of years,” Aull told the Lantern. 

The Senate has outlined these budget lines for child care: 

  • $28 million annually – $21 million from the General Fund and $7 million in federal funds – in 2025 and 2026 for reimbursements to child care providers through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). This is a decrease from what the House proposed: $40 million, and what Sen. Danny Carroll requested in his Horizons Act: $66 million, though he voted in favor of the proposal on the floor. Despite the decrease, “that piece is still much more than we’ve ever gotten,” Vanover said. 
  • $14.8 million annually to provide child care for child care providers. This is “one of the great things that the Senate had that the House did not,” Vanover said. Sen. Chris McDaniel, chair of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, said this was included because “the most effective program that we had seen and that we had heard about is the idea that if you’re a child care worker, we’re willing to pay for your child care.” 
  • $10.6 million for CCAP assistance for families at 160% of the federal poverty level. This is the same as what the House proposed
  • $2 million annually to award Innovations in Early Childhood Education Delivery Fund grants.
  • $2 million annually for the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership (ECCAP). This passed into law in 2022  and incentivizes employers to help employees pay for child care. 
  • $1.5 million annually to add a six-month adjustment period for families who are no longer eligible for CCAP. During that time period, those families would receive decreased benefits. This portion, McDaniel said, is to “eliminate the benefits cliff” for families. 
  • $1.3 million annually to cover the cost of background checks for new child care staff. This is a point Carroll requested in his Horizons Act. These required background checks can cost around $90 per person, Vanover said. After that expense, they may reveal the person isn’t eligible for employment. 

“(The) reimbursement rate for CCAP is probably our top priority and that’s a large amount that is still dedicated to that,” Vanover said. “So that’s a win there as far as maintaining funding.” 

It’s “hard to say” if the steps are enough to stabilize the industry this year, according to Aull. 

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Brigitte Blom (Kentucky Lantern photo by Isabella Sepahban)

“CCAP is one of those things that literally allows (families) to participate in the workforce and without it … they’re going to have to choose between … ‘can I find somewhere for my child to be while I’m working?’” Aull  said. “Or they (are) just going to say ‘it’s just going to make more sense for me to sit out of the workforce until maybe the kid is … five, six years old, maybe in grade school.’” 

Brigitte Blom, the president and CEO of the Prichard Committee, said many points in the budget are “steps in the right direction.” But, she said, there is “unfinished business” for lawmakers to address.

“We seek decisive action to transform access to quality, affordable child care with at least a $150 million per year above FY 2024 levels,” Blom said in a statement. This is “essential if we are to provide a strong start for our children and support for Kentucky’s workforce.”

“We also call for the necessary funding to support high-quality teaching and broaden access to higher education, crucial elements for measurable, long-term impact,” Blom said.

What is missing in the Senate budget for child care? 

The Senate and House will come together to agree on a final version of the state budget. Vanover would like to see them maintain CCAP eligibility for families at 85% of the state median income. 

Without that step, Vanover said, “we could potentially lose a lot of working families that need child care assistance.” 

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She would also like to see more dollars dedicated to CCAP based on enrollment instead of attendance. 

“CCAP, in the past, has paid only when children are there,” she said. “Which is not how schools work. You still have to pay teachers, you still have building expenses, those kinds of things.” 

The budget could still change, and the numbers could continue to fluctuate until it’s finalized.  

“As (the budget) currently exists on the Senate side, it’s a good step forward,” Aull said. “This is arguably probably the largest investment in child care that we’ve seen in terms of general fund dollars. And I think that’s something that’s worth celebrating and worth noting.”

Jennifer Washburn, director and owner of iKids Childhood Enrichment Center in Benton, sports a shirt touting child care’s importance, Nov. 28, 2023. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Abbey Cutrer)

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Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say

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Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say


MUHLENBERG, Ky. (WFIE) – Kentucky officials says there are multiple people injured in a three-car accident on Western Kentucky Parkway.

According to a post made by the Central City Fire Department, three vehicles were involved in a crash between the 64 and 65 mile markers eastbound of the parkway.

They say both the eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at this time. The closure should last around 3 hours.

Two people were extricated from a vehicle. Four adults and three juveniles are being taken to the hospital. No update has been given on their conditions.

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They say a mass casualty incident was declared, and Ohio County Fire and EMS were called to the scene due to the number of patients.

We will update you when we learn more.

Several people hurt in Western Kentucky Parkway multi-car accident, officials say(Central City Fire Department)



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2027 top in-state prospect talks about his Kentucky unofficial visit on Tuesday

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2027 top in-state prospect talks about his Kentucky unofficial visit on Tuesday


Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in the 2026 class have hit a current rough patch, but things are looking promising in the 2027 class, as the staff has already casted a very wide net in the class, with a number of top targets in the fold. As they’re continuing to pursue mostly national targets, a local star is now on the staff’s radar.

2027 in-state guard Braxton Keathley, one of the state’s top prospects even regardless of class, took an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Tuesday for the game against NC Central. Keathley is native of Martin County, KY, and has took the state by storm as he has really stuffed the stat sheet. Just recently, he dropped a triple-double of 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds last weekend.

The Kentucky staff has certainly seemed to take notice really quickly. He’s also getting plenty of other interest, too, including having frequent contact with Louisville, LSU, Purdue, South Carolina, and Florida State, plus offers from Eastern Kentucky, UT Martin, Ohio, and Bowling Green, among others. Keathley sat down with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to talk about his recent visit to Kentucky. What were his impressions of the staff? He shared a conversation he had with them before Tuesday’s game. He also had some interactions with others, too.

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“They really talked about how well I scored it and how they’ve been hearing about me for a long time,” Keathley said of his conversation with the Kentucky staff. “One of the (Kentucky) assistants mentioned he had a coaching friend tell them that they better jump on me quick cause I was really good. I had several fans come up to me and take pictures. Jack Givens welcomed me and talked to me for a little bit and said he’s highly impressed with my game and plans on coming to a game soon. A couple of other UK players came up, they were really nice and said they been keeping up with me.”

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Braxton Keathley | Photo via Jessica Adkins

As a Kentucky kid, Keathley says he been a fan of the Wildcats since he was little, even getting to train with Tyrese Maxey this summer, and he also had some great things to say about what he saw from fellow Kentucky natives and current Wildcats Trent Noah, Jasper Johnson, and Malachi Moreno. “I looked up to players like Tyler Herro, SGA, Tyrese Maxey, Devin Booker, Malik Monk and Reed Sheppard. I got lucky that I got to train with Maxey for a week in August,” Keathley said. “I saw Trent Noah last night having great energy and keeping a smile on his face during warmups. You could tell he loved every minute wearing that Kentucky uniform. He cares and it shows. I saw Jasper and Moreno warming up hard. The one thing about it, and my dad always told me, it’s a different place. You got to be special to play there and be willing to accept everything that comes with wearing that jersey.”

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Interestingly enough, Keathley’s dad coached former Kentucky greats Anthony Epps and Wayne Turner after their time at Kentucky, so Keathley has a family history of being around all that comes with the passion of Kentucky basketball. What did Keathley’s dad learn about the two former Wildcats he got the privilege to coach? “He said they carried a chip on their shoulder and were great leaders always humble but tough. and I have to do the same.” Now, for Keathley, it’s about climbing the ranks nationally. “A couple (recruiting services) don’t have me ranked yet and that’s ok. I’m going to walk in the gym every night and know I outworked you and I’m going to outplay you,” he said. “I’m going to compete like every game is a championship. I’m going to to play with the same passion that the fans have. I’m always all in there’s no going back or in-between.”

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Keathley has so much passion for his community in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, and he has plans of doing big things at Martin County. He also shared a message Trent Noah’s dad had for him during their interaction at Tuesday’s Kentucky game. “Something he said that really stuck out. ‘Us mountain people have got to stick together.’ He’s right, Eastern Kentucky has great people and basketball players. Kentucky basketball as whole, we got to stick together through the highs and lows. That’s what we do.”

That’s a great message from a parent of a current Wildcat who was in his shoes before, being a fellow native of that part of the state. The Kentucky staff is certainly going to keep an eye on him as he continues the impressive run he is on so far this season, because he just continues to catch more and more people’s attention with his play.



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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com

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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduces legislation for U.S. to leave NATO – UPI.com


Dec. 10 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican serving a House district in Kentucky, introduced legislation for the United States to pull out of NATO.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, posted on X that she would be a co-sponsor of the Not a Trusted Organization Act, or NATO Act. Utah Republican Mike Lee introduced the same legislation in the Senate earlier this year.

“NATO is a Cold War relic,” Massie said in a statement Tuesday. “We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries.

“NATO was created to counter the Soviet Union, which collapsed over 30 years ago. Since then, U.S. participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk U.S. involvement in foreign wars.”

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He added: “Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against. America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense.”

NATO was founded in 1949 by 12 members as a military alliance involving European nations, as well as the U.S. and Canada in North America. There are now 32 members, with Finland joining in 2023 and Sweden in 2024.

The NATO Act would prevent the use of U.S. taxpayer funds for NATO’s common budgets, including its civil budget, military budget and the Security Investment Program.

Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty allows nations to opt out.

“After the Treaty has been in force for 20 years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation,” the treaty reads.

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During the last NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, President Donald Trump told reporters he agrees with NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense treaty.

“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”

Article 5 was invoked for the first time after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, leading to NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.

The Kentucky Republican, who calls himself a “fiscal hawk” and a “constitutional conservative,” has been at odds with Trump on several issues, including fiscal spending, foreign policy/war powers, government surveillance and transparency.

Trump has also been critical of NATO.

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During his 2016 election campaign, Trump called the alliance “obsolete.”

He urged nations to spend at least 3.5% of gross domestic product on core defense needs by 2035.

In June, NATO allies agreed to a new defense spending guideline to invest 5% of GDP annually in defense and security by 2035.

Five nations were above 3% in 2024: Poland at 4.12%, Estonia at 3.43%, U.S. at 3.38%, Latvia at 3.15% and Greece at 3.08%. In last is Spain with 1.28% though Iceland has no armed forces and Sweden wasn’t listed.

Some Republican senators want stronger involvement in the alliance, including Joni Ernst of Iowa and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Wicker is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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For passage, a House majority is needed, but 60 of 100 votes in the Senate to break the filibuster and then a majority vote. Trump could also veto the bill.



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