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Common Ground for Kids: Addressing Addictive Platforms

Whether “right” or “left”, state legislators are acknowledging the role and impact of social media on youth. House Bill 227, sponsored by Representative Lockett with cosponsors growing each day, creates some guardrails for social media companies. This legislation specifically requires age verification procedures, prohibits specific “addictive features,” and sets privacy setting requirements and parental rights around account management. It also authorizes the Attorney General to bring forth action on behalf of Kentuckians where appropriate.  As [...]

By |2026-03-26T10:06:26-04:00March 26th, 2026|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Getting to the Root Cause to Prevent Truancy

All children deserve to learn and grow in an encouraging and supportive environment that reduces the risk of system involvement. Yet, recent legislative changes have led to more children and parents entering the court system for truancy. Truancy is defined as missing three or more days of school or being tardy on three or more days without a valid excuse. Any child who is reported as truant two or more times in a one year [...]

By |2026-03-26T09:42:09-04:00March 26th, 2026|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Justice|
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Bloom Kentucky Sprout-Out: Ohio County United for Youth

As part of Bloom Kentucky, “sprout outs” are our way of giving a meaningful shout out to programs fostering hope and resilience in our communities. We’re proud to spotlight the incredible work of Ohio County United for Youth. Ohio County United for Youth is an organization led by young people in partnership with adult volunteers in Ohio County, Kentucky. Their work is guided by the Developmental Assets Framework, which “identifies 40 research-based positive experiences that [...]

By |2026-01-13T12:30:14-05:00January 13th, 2026|Blog, Bloom Advocacy Corner, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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Time-Balls & Bloom Kentucky: 2025 in Review

Every New Year’s Eve, millions watch as the iconic Times Square ball drops. What many don’t know is that the “ball-drop” has historic roots dating back to the 1830s where the first “time-ball” was installed atop England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich to help captains of nearby ships set their chronometers for navigation. As the ball drops for 2025 and signals our entry in 2026, I cannot help but reflect on Bloom Kentucky’s major milestones from [...]

By |2025-12-19T12:47:51-05:00December 19th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Advocacy Corner, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|
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A Federal Spotlight on Foster Youth and What it Could Mean for Kentucky

Last month, the Trump administration released an Executive Order titled Fostering the Future for American Children and Families at a press conference with the President and First Lady, signaling that current foster youth and young people aging out of care are an important issue for the administration, and the First Lady in particular.  When announcing the order, the administration discussed and acknowledged the long-standing challenges within the foster care system, particularly for youth who transition [...]

By |2025-12-18T13:30:20-05:00December 18th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Understanding Overreporting in Public Schools: Analysis of Impact and Recommendations

In 2024, more than 55,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect were made to Kentucky’s Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), which houses Child Protective Services (CPS). As a universal mandatory reporting state, every adult is required to make a report if they have a reasonable suspicion that a child is being abused or neglected. While every adult can play a role in keeping children safe, research and data suggest that the intended impact [...]

By |2025-12-18T15:10:27-05:00December 18th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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The Child Care Landscape Heading into 2026

With only a month until the beginning of Kentucky’s legislative session, it is essential for child advocates to be up-to-date on the topics most likely to impact children and families in 2026.  The General Assembly will undoubtedly be discussing topics like food insecurity, children experiencing homelessness, and Kentucky children having access to appropriate health care – and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children has a number of state policy and budget priorities that will impact kids [...]

By |2025-12-10T10:50:47-05:00December 10th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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Cultivating Hope: KYOAAC’s Latest Funding Opportunities

What does it mean to cultivate? Merriam-Webster dictionary describes this term as “to prepare for raising of crops”, “to foster the growth of”, “ to improve by labor, care, or study”, “further, encourage”. Like a farmer may prepare for raising crops to produce a strong yield, we believe that the state’s opioid settlement funds should be invested to produce strong yields for kids and families across the Commonwealth to mitigate the impacts of the [...]

By |2025-12-17T09:37:43-05:00November 25th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Advocacy Corner, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health|
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Guest Post: Reshaping the Trajectories of Kentucky’s Grieving Children

By Leila Salisbury  November has been designated as Grieving Children and Families Month, a time to highlight the data points showing that grief and loss are at the heart of the most under recognized and under addressed population health crisis for our children in Kentucky. 1 in 9 children in Kentucky will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the age of 18.  These bereaved children are more likely to experience Substance Use [...]

By |2025-12-17T09:36:58-05:00November 12th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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Building a Children’s Cabinet: What, Why, Who, and How?

In order to meet the needs of kids and families, many states offer a variety of programs from medical services, nutrition programs, child care, and emergency supports. Although all the programs apply to families and children, the services can be hard to access since they are housed across different departments, cabinets, and websites.  In order to increase efficiency, and make access easier for families of young children, states are looking outside the box and finding [...]

By |2025-12-17T09:36:05-05:00November 12th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Advocacy Corner, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|
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