LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There has long been an achievement gap in Kentucky based on both race and income. New data suggests that the pandemic is exacerbating that.

Kentucky Youth Advocates released information from a survey of Kentucky families. It found more than half of Kentucky households with kids lost income since the start of the pandemic. The data also found people of color were disproportionately impacted. Two-thirds of Latin households with kids reported a loss of income due to COVID-19. Fewer than half of Kentucky's Black households with children reported being employed in the last week. 

"Historically, we know the zip code in which a child is born and sadly the color of that little boy or girl's skin does impact outcomes. What the pandemic did is explode those unfortunate disproportionality," Kentucky Youth Advocates Executive Director Terry Brooks said.

Brooks said the economic hardship comes at a time when nearly everything has been moved online. With dependence on technology and the internet for telehealth appointments and even school, Brooks said the pandemic is widening the digital divide.

"For decades there are differences in achievement around kids of color and kids in poverty. There is no one who believes distance learning, virtual schools, and hybrid models are going to do anything, but accentuate that," Brooks said.

The newly released 2020 Kentucky Kids Count Data revealed, before the pandemic, Kentucky was making improvements in categories like childhood poverty rates, percent of children covered by health insurance, and graduation rates. 

Brooks said his goal by collecting the data is for it to be used as a springboard for legislative change. With the setbacks caused by the pandemic, Brooks said the decisions made in the 2021 session could determine whether or not Kentucky can sustain the improvements it has been making over the years.