Kentucky Legislature Passes Early-Childhood Initiative

By Michelle Galley

In the final days of its regular session, the Kentucky legislature last week passed a wide-ranging early-childhood initiative that proponents hailed as a landmark effort in a state that has gotten low marks in national ratings of children's well-being.

The plan calls for using 25 percent of the state's settlement money from tobacco companies—or nearly $56 million over two years—on efforts to improve the quality of child care and health services for the state's 257,000 children under the age of 6. Gov. Paul E. Patton was expected to sign the bill into law this week.

"This is the biggest contribution we have ever made to children from zero to 3," said Rep. Thomas J. Burch, a Democrat who sponsored the...