Sometimes 30 days can feel like way more than 30 days. And the 2019 Kentucky General Assembly felt like WAY more than 30 days! (OK, technically the session started in January and went through the end of March, and legislators were just in chambers for 30 days, but you get the idea. A lot happened during this legislative session, and Kentucky leaders didn’t even have a state budget to work on.)

Better behavioral health services for students and safer school environments. Tobacco-free school campuses and a strong step toward curbing e-cig use among teens. Supports for kinship caregivers. Big first step toward aligning Kentucky’s child welfare laws with federal law. A foster child’s bill of rights.

All of these Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children bills required many champions: the legislator who sponsored the bill, other legislators who voted for it, brave Kentuckians who testified on behalf of the bill, journalists who raised the profile of the bill in their local papers, and you—the advocate for kids.

To every advocate who called their legislator, to every advocate who showed up for Children’s Advocacy Day, to every advocate who shared information about bills that are good for kids on their social media—thank you. Every one of those actions—and every one of those 30 legislative days—was like a ripple in a pond, growing and growing to continue the tide of change for Kentucky kids.

Here at Kentucky Youth Advocates we have a vision where Kentucky is the best place in America to be young, and we know that is a common vision around which Kentuckians can unite. Nearly a million Kentucky kids are counting on all of us, so let’s keep on making waves toward a brighter future for all of them!

Learn more about Senate Bill 1, House Bill 2, House Bill 11, and House Bill 158 on the Kentucky General Assembly Bill Tracker and take action by thanking your state Senator and Representative for supporting Blueprint priority bills.