About Us
Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) is a non-partisan, non-profit, children's advocacy organization. KYA represents a voice for Kentucky's most precious asset – its youth. We believe that Kentucky's youth deserve the opportunities and resources necessary to ensure their productive development and health. We work on behalf of Kentucky's children with the state legislature, the community, and the media. KYA listens to children, their families, and service providers who are reluctant or unable to raise questions about existing policies.
KYA promotes positive changes and policies that impact children by providing research, timely publications on issues and collaborating with a variety of groups to craft policies that positively affect Kentucky's children, especially those who are poor and otherwise disadvantaged. Our organization subscribes to the following strategies:
- Case Advocacy
Kentucky Youth Advocates receives hundreds of calls annually from families and children seeking information on how to navigate the complex systems in place on numerous fronts.
- Public Education
Kentucky Youth Advocates publishes regular reports, studies, issue briefs and alerts on a variety of topics impacting the lives of children.
- Administrative Negotiation
Kentucky Youth Advocates negotiates with government officials who are responsible for overseeing children's programs to strengthen and increase the services available to Kentucky’s children in need.
- Legislative Monitoring
Kentucky Youth Advocates tracks, monitors and lobbies on behalf of children’s issues before the Kentucky General Assembly and Kentucky’s congressional delegation.