Yesterday, April 9, was KY Gives Day. It was a day when people stepped up to invest in non-profits all across the Commonwealth, and we thank everyone who gave to Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) yesterday. If you missed KY Gives Day, you can still make a donation to KYA today or any day at https://kyyouth.org/donate/.

Children often don’t have a voice in decisions made by our policymakers, and your support will help make sure Kentucky Youth Advocates can continue to be THE independent voice for Kentucky kids.

Want to learn more about KYA? Check out this message from our Executive Director, Dr. Terry Brooks about the work we do everyday for children and families in Kentucky, and read more about our daily activities below.

Kentucky Youth Advocates engages in a number of key activities to help us work towards our vision to make Kentucky the best place in America to be young.

On a daily basis we:

  • Meet with and work with legislators in Frankfort, the Governor and other elected officials to change and enact policies that will help kids in Kentucky.
  • Help families who call us navigate complex systems such as the child welfare system through our case advocacy program. We serve as their guide when families don’t know where to turn. We served over 600 families last year.
  • Conduct research and education that informs and recommends solutions to key audiences. We also track data on various aspects of child well-being through our KIDS COUNT project because we know that what gets measured gets changed.
  • Go out in the state and present the “state of kids” to communities so they are knowledgeable about how children our faring in their county and are better prepared to address the problems.
  • Work with print, T.V., and radio media outlets to raise awareness of key issues impacting children. We also heavily utilize social media to interact with policymakers and advocates to build support for solutions to improve child well-being in Kentucky.