A leading advocate for Kentucky kids, is making a career pivot from the classroom to the state capitol.

Terri Burks is life's work has focused on educating and elevating Kentucky kids.

For nearly 20 years now, he's led the Kentucky Youth Advocates, and soon he'll take on a new assignment with Sunrise Children's Services.

Renee Shaw spoke with Brooks earlier this week about how he's rewiring, not retiring.

Doctor Terri Brooks, it's good to see you.

Renee.

It's great being here, as always with you.

So you're making a little pivot right now.

Tell us about that.

Well, I have been, at Kia for 21 years, and, I'm getting ready to step away from that leadership position.

And, I know myself well enough because I'm not a talented guy.

I don't have any hobbies.

So I was really looking for, a meaningful, Next chapter.

I've spent my life as an educator and a key around kids.

So I'm really excited that this next chapter, I'm assuming a leadership role at Sunrise Children's Services.

Sunrise started in 1869 as a reaction to where Kentucky was.

And kids after the Civil War.

And, so it's a new world in many ways.

And in many ways, it's very similar.

Very similar.

So, you know, we were talking off camera that in many ways, if you took my education career in my key career and put them in a blender and poured it out.

That's what this is what you get.

Yeah.

And no downtime in between the two assignments.

My last day at CoA is June 30th, so if, if, if I get to leave at 5:00, I'm going to wait until 8:00 the next morning.

So.

Oh, goodness.

You got some time?

Well, talk to us about Kentucky Youth advocates, which is really it is considered the preeminent voice, independent voice for Kentucky kids and really has dominated the public policy space when it comes to everything from education to child welfare issues, even health issues.

You all have been the voice and the go to.

And it didn't start off that way.

Yeah.

You know, as I look back on those two decades, my first experience with K in the child advocacy arena, and I say this really respectfully, but I was surprised that folks with whom I worked never talked about winning.

They talked about press conferences in protest.

They talked about why other sectors won and kids didn't.

You know me when it comes to college sports or anything else, I tend to be a little competitive.

So we at Kia, adopted, an attitude where one of our fundamental cornerstones is win, baby win.

And, that's what we want to do.

We tracked some 85 distinct policy wins that we've had over the last two decades.

Most of those have come in the last 15 years rather than the first five.

And, absolutely.

I believe that as important as on the ground work is and it is so important whether you're talking about sunrise or whether you're talking about a school.

But the macro change in Frankfort, that's what drives the lives of children.

So I don't believe that any advocate or champion for kid can accept anything but palpable wins in Frankfort.

And that's what we've tried to be about for these 21 years.

Of those 85 wins.

Do you have a top 1 or 2 that you can narrow down?

Well, you know, I think, in this is so reflective.

I know you know, this it's so reflective of what I do think is a little bit of a disappointing trend line in Frankfort, which was that you can think back to in 2012, a fundamental juvenile justice.

Right.

Omnibus bill was passed.

Right.

Democratic House member, Republican Senate member championed that.

Later on, I remember that Representative Jenkins and Representative Mead.

A liberal urban Democrat and a rural conservative Republican put together, a child welfare package that still animates what happens on the ground.

So those were big sweeping changes in many ways.

They were the child welfare and juvenile justice equivalents of Cara.

So you talk education reform for those who don't.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Big swings right.

I also think that there are smaller wins which at the time perhaps no one.

And that maybe includes me.

Realize the power and I'll give you an example that's been in the news lately.

We spent three years.

We failed for two and finally got it done.

I think the third to establish, the Ombudsman for children as an independent office.

Right.

And why is that so important?

Historically, that had been in the cabinet for Health and Family Services and whoever the Secretary was is not a Republican or Democratic, assessment, but essentially the ombudsman to handle complaints about their boss.

That's right.

So, finally legislation happened that moved the ombudsman office to the state auditor.

The result of that, we've already seen, which is that the issue of temporary placement for kids, what's happening with kids sleeping in offices and state parks is resonating.

I do believe that the independence of that office has something to do with the power of the investigation going on.

So as I look back, some of those winds have been big and sweeping, and some of them have been fairly discreet, but still had real leverage.

Yeah.

When we think about where Kentucky kids are, we know that the needle moves forward, and sometimes it moves back at almost the same pace and cadence when it comes to educationally.

We had some good news when it comes to Covid recovery that we were outpacing many other states and and science and our in math and reading.

But when you think about the overall scope of the well-being of Kentucky kids, are they better off now than they were 20 years ago of take that, take this new cohort and compare it to the the ones that have, matriculated.

I guess you could say the.

Good news, bad news on that.

And it's always dicey to do comparison.

Right?

Right.

And that, the good news is that at least when I started it, k those national rankings had us in the 40s.

We're now in the 30s now.

I hope no one I hope whoever the new governor is, I hope Senate leadership, House leadership or any of your viewers, none of us should be happy that we're 36, because that means there's 35 states doing better, but I'd rather be 36 than 44th.

So in terms of comparative ranking, I think, you know, it's improved.

I think there's nuances, in in the kids Count report.

And I'll give you one that I think bears digging into each year with a unique lens and one that has stayed the same.

One of the saddest statistics that is in the kids Count report is child and teen fatality.

How many kids die?

That number has stayed up grudgingly.

The same.

But what's fascinating is when you look underneath the surface, you see the causal factors are dramatically different today than they were, a decade ago.

And it does show that we can address the issue.

And I'll give you the example when that number was first established.

The major cause of death was shaken baby syndrome.

You'll remember a lot of news stories.

Groups like Hozier for kids, which launched the face ID campaign.

University of Kentucky's pediatric unit.

A number of groups have come together and really, really started training and awareness that's going away.

Right.

Kids are not dying because of shaken baby.

Now they're dying because of ingestion of drugs, not shooting up in the park, but the medicine cabinet is open or through accidental deaths because of firearms.

So the number of young people dying is still a tragedy.

And it stayed fairly steady.

Causes that should animate our legislators to look at the the data point.

And you and I have talked about this 100 times, but of all the data points in the report, I think there is one seminal one, and that is the number of kids who are living in poverty.

If today is a typical day in Kentucky, some 200,000 kids woke up in poverty.

And we know that that one statistic, that one statistic impacts educational achievement, health outcomes, family stability, every other thing in the report.

So I have said for a long time, and I will continue to say in my new role, unless and until we as a state tackle childhood poverty.

Those other numbers are not going to move in a decisive and positive direction.

Yeah.

Do you think that Kentucky lawmakers are cozying up to that message and understand that it can be nuanced?

It doesn't have to be some sweeping omnibus bill.

There are small changes they can make.

Sure.

I sure hope that they do.

I mean, some things are on the table, which is if the General Assembly and Governor will invest in the 50,000 kids living in kinship care today, we will see an immediate change in that poverty number.

So helping those grandmas and grandpas out make a difference.

The one that, again, we've talked about on so many different shows, budget shows, tax shows, did shows is we know that nationally, the most effective policy when it comes to combating child is policy is the earned income tax credit.

That idea, that.

Bipartisan.

Idea Ronald Reagan, right.

And Barack Obama.

That's on the table.

And we know that if Kentucky lawmakers and governor will agree to that, that a refundable state earned income tax credit is good for low income working families, it's good for local economies, and it's actually good for the state budget.

So I would love to think that that idea became a bipartisan consensus in the 27 gubernatorial campaign.

I think it would be amazing if whoever the governor is put that on the table in his or her budget address in 28.

And the General Assembly came together and said, let's make a dent in childhood poverty because if we do that, we're going to make a dent in education, health, family and community stability.

Yeah.

Well, Doctor Terry Brooks, we could talk to you, much, much, much longer.

But perhaps in your new role, we'll let you settle in and get acclimated.

Not that that will take long.

We'll have to have you back because you are such a strong champion for Kentucky kids.

And that doesn't change even if your title does.

Well, I appreciate that.

And, my hope and commitment and prayer is that I hope Sunrise Children's Services and its many, many partners, many, many other wonderful child welfare agencies.

We don't want incremental change.

We want a revolution when it comes to Kentucky's most vulnerable kids.

Yeah.

Good words to end on.

Thank you, sir, and the best of luck to you.

Thanks, Renee.