Kentucky Youth Advocates is a left-of-center education advocacy group in the state of Kentucky. It produces research reports and advocacy papers on the quality of education, school funding, and problems facing children in Kentucky. ¹

Kentucky Youth Advocates supports left-of-center advocacy projects in education. It has a page on its website dedicated to the critical race theory concept of “racial equity.” The organization has collaborated with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to produce the KIDS COUNT Data Center, a data aggregator that filters results by race. Together, the groups have released several studies on racial discrimination and poverty levels in Kentucky. ²

The organization has also been critical of some aspects of homeschooling in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent increase in the number of homeschooling families. ³

Background

Kentucky Youth Advocates is an education advocacy group in the state of Kentucky. It produces research reports and advocacy papers on the quality of education, school funding, and problems facing children in Kentucky. ¹

Activities

Kentucky Youth Advocates has a page on its website dedicated to the critical race theory concept of “racial equity” and believes that state resources need to be directed to programs that aim to achieve equal outcomes for “Black and Brown” kids. ² The organization has collaborated with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to produce the KIDS COUNT Data Center, a data aggregator that filters results by race. Together, the groups have released several studies on racial discrimination and poverty levels in Kentucky. ²

Kentucky Youth Advocates is a member of Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a coalition of advocacy groups that support expanding childcare and affordable housing programs. ^{4 5}

Kentucky Youth Advocates has been critical of the increase in homeschooling families in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a blog post from July 2024, it argued that homeschooling has negative consequences for “school choice, public school funding, quality, and accountability” and has implications for “children’s rights to education and safety, religious freedom, disability rights, and racial and socioeconomic equity.” In turn, the group advocated for the state government to pass homeschooling regulations. ⁶

In a follow-up post from August 2024, Kentucky Youth Advocates argued that Kentucky should introduce standardized tests for homeschooled students. In November 2024, the organization warned that homeschooled children could suffer from abuse or neglect and may not be fully prepared for college by the end of their schooling. It again advocated for the Kentucky government to pass regulations on homeschooling, arguing that homeschooling educators should have a minimum education level of a high school diploma and should be screened to ensure they do not have a history of child abuse. ^{7 3}

Financials

In 2022, Kentucky Youth Advocates had a revenue of $3,952,282, total expenses $3,766,075, and net assets of $3,050,415. ⁸

Funding

In 2022, Kentucky Youth Advocates received donations from the Center for the Study of Social Policy ($60,000), the CSPI Action Fund ($23,000), the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky ($241,057), and the Harshaw Family Foundation ($100,000). ^{9 10 11 12}

Leadership

As of 2024, the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates was Terry Brooks. ¹³ According to its 2022 tax returns, he was compensated $253,863 for the year. ¹⁴

That year, Tom Emberton was serving as the chair-elect of the board. ¹³

1. “Our Work.” KYYouth. Accessed December 8, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/about-kya/#ourwork.
2. “Race Equity.” KYYouth. Accessed December 8, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/race-equity/.
3. Vanover, Sarah. “Strengthening Kentucky Homeschool Settings.” KYYouth, November 7, 2024. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/strengthening-kentucky-homeschool-settings/.
4. “Blue Print Kentucky.” KYYouth. Accessed December 8, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/blueprintky/.
5. “2024 Blueprint for KY’s Children Agenda.” KYYouth. Accessed December 8, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2024-BP_Agenda.pdf.
6. Lane, Casey. “Kentucky Homeschool Trends and Reflection.” KYYouth, July 31, 2024. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/kentucky-homeschool-trends-and-reflection/.
7. Lane, Casey. “Kentucky Homeschool Strengths, Concerns, and Opportunities.” KYYouth, August 29, 2024. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/kentucky-homeschool-strengths-concerns-and-opportunities/.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Kentucky Youth Advocates. 2022. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
9.  Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Center for the Study of Social Policy. 2022. Schedule I. Part II – Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organizations and Domestic Governments.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). CSPI Action Fund. 2022. Schedule I. Part II – Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organizations and Domestic Governments.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. 2022. Schedule I. Part II – Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organizations and Domestic Governments.
12. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Harshaw Family Foundation. 2022. Schedule I. Part II – Grants and Other Assistance to Domestic Organizations and Domestic Governments.
13. “Staff and Board.” KYYouth. Accessed December 8, 2024. https://kyyouth.org/about-kya/#staffboard.
14. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Kentucky Youth Advocates. 2022. Part VII, Section A. – Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, and Highest Compensated Employees.