Experts say sedentary lifestyles, food insecurity, and other factors are driving an increase in childhood diabetes in Kentucky.

Research shows nationwide, the number of young people with type 2 diabetes jumped by 77% during the first year of the pandemic, compared with the two years prior.

Leslie Scott is an associate professor and pediatric nurse practitioner at the University of Kentucky's Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center.

She said she's seeing more diagnoses of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in kids.

She said the younger a child is when diagnosed, the greater the odds of developing co-morbid conditions - such as high blood pressure, kidney disease and neuropathy later in life.

"Some of the symptoms are very vague and difficult to kind of tease out," said Scott. "But if you have a child that's drinking a lot more fluids than they normally have, if they're losing weight unexpectedly, if they're going to the bathroom a lot - those are some things that you would want to certainly seek an evaluation for."

According to the American Diabetes Association, 352,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated to have diagnosed diabetes.

Diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2021, and was responsible for more than $300 billion in direct medical costs in 2022 alone.

Ben Chandler is the CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, whose new campaign aims to increase community prevention awareness and help families spot warning signs of the condition in children.

He said a more active lifestyle and maintaining healthy weight can go a long way toward reducing risk.

"We also don't have the proper screening for young people," said Chandler. "We could have more community events that could include free screening. So there are things that we can do, and there are things that schools can do."

Scott added that school nurses can play a critical role in spotting diabetes early on in kids, and improving overall health.

"There are guidelines for screening for risk of Type 2 diabetes in children," said Scott, "and that begins either at puberty, at the age of 10 - where they want to start children that are overweight or obese, you want to start monitoring for some of those risks."

Living with diabetes can be stressful and isolating for kids.

Scott said Camp Hendon - a diabetes summer camp based in Louisville - provides a supportive and educational environment, as well as a normal summer camp experience for kids who have to regularly check their blood glucose levels and administer insulin.

Ohio child welfare advocates are urging lawmakers to restore more than $60 million in funding to address the state's ongoing foster care placement crisis. A decision is expected by the end of June.

Gov. Mike DeWine and state House leaders included funding in the budget to expand the State Child Protective Allocation and create new child wellness campuses. But the Ohio Senate removed both investments.

Scott Britton, assistant director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, said counties can't manage this crisis alone.

"Children deserve a safe place to sleep that meets their behavioral health and their well-being needs. The cost of foster care placements is outpacing inflation - 68%, or $158 million more today than just five years ago - and federal reimbursement is declining," he explained.

The Senate cut $61 million from the House budget: $31 million from county child protection funds and $30 million from proposed wellness campuses. Conference committee members are working to finalize the budget by June 30.

Britton said the proposed child wellness campuses would help reduce the number of children sleeping in county offices. He adds that the governor, House, and a cross-agency group support the plan.

"The campuses are going to be trauma-informed places where children can be properly assessed and supported," he said. "Our cross-system working group prioritized this solution, so we believe Ohio could be a national leader with the strategy."

Advocates say restoring the full investment would help stabilize foster care costs and better serve children in crisis across Ohio.

With school out for summer vacation, maintaining healthy sleep habits can be a challenge for parents and children.

Longer daylight hours and shifting schedules can disrupt sleep patterns, leaving families feeling off balance or out of sync.

Dr. Chafen Watkins Hart, pediatric sleep specialist at National Jewish Health in Denver, said sleep routines do not begin just before bedtime, they are shaped by what happens all day long. She stressed it is important to keep the time kids wake up relatively consistent, even if they get to sleep in during summer months.

"I recommend parents keep the wake time as stable as possible, within 30 minutes to an hour," Hart explained. "Getting them out into the sun early in the day is really important. Keeping meal times structured around the same time each day."

Hart noted there is no one-size-fits-all approach to sleep and encouraged parents to find a routine that works best for their child. While elementary-age children typically fall asleep more easily, teenagers may struggle due to natural shifts in their circadian rhythms during puberty.

Warmer nights can also interfere with the body's natural cooling process, making it harder to fall and stay asleep. Hart suggested turning off phones and other screens and no eating at least one hour before bedtime.

"Maybe set a timer for bedtime. Change the lighting," Hart outlined. "Dimmer lights can help the brain sort of process that nighttime is coming, that sleep should happen in the next couple of hours."

As the new school year draws near, Hart said it's best to gradually adjust sleep times to get children of all ages to bed earlier. And helping kids go over tomorrow's plans can help ward off any nighttime anxiety. If kids cannot fall asleep and are just laying awake for 40 minutes or more, she suggested getting out of bed and doing a quiet activity in a dimly lit area, ideally outside their bedroom.

"If they can get out of bed, it will help their brain associate their bed with sleep and not just with laying there being anxious," Hart added. "Then try to go back to sleep 30 or 40 minutes later. That can help reset the brain, and they might have better luck falling asleep the second time around."


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Childhood trauma is costing Kentucky millions each year, according to a new report released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates and Bloom Kentucky.

The report claims that between 2015 and 2020, 62% of Kentucky adults reported having at least one adverse childhood event - with those experiences resulting in a total economic burden of $295 million per year.

Communities have a responsibility to invest in prevention and policies aimed at improving child well-being, said Sara Hemingway - the executive director of the Marilyn and William Young Charitable Foundation.

"It's difficult enough to overcome trauma when you're an adult, much less a child," said Hemingway. "And I think that as a state, as communities, I think we need to be working upstream and not downstream."

The most commonly reported experiences are parental divorce, household substance use, and emotional abuse.

The report calls to expand access to child care, increase usage of home-visitation programs, and embed trauma-informed approaches in schools.

Hannah Edelen, policy and advocacy director with Kentucky Youth Advocates, said while experiencing adversity in childhood can increase the likelihood of hardship later in life, positive experiences have the opposite effect.

"The new research talks a lot about positive childhood experiences and the impact of having a mentor in your life," said Edelen, "and there's real opportunity to create policy, as well as invest in those types of programs."

Barry Allen - president & CEO of the Gheens Foundation, and a leader of the Bloom Kentucky Coalition - said he hopes the report helps lawmakers understand that the experiences of children impact the state as a whole.

"Our intent is to take this report and take some action with it," said Allen, "as it relates, not only to the providers of services to children, but also to the legislature - for stepping in and making some policy decisions."

He pointed to legislation such as the Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019, which promoted trauma-based programs and teacher education, as an important step forward for kids in the Commonwealth.