There are a lot of changes happening within the child welfare system in Kentucky due to recent state policy changes, agency commitments from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and both state and federal funding that will have a profound impact on how our child welfare system functions and supports Kentucky children and families. The Cabinet has begun work on implementing House Bill 1, along with other needed reforms to transform the way our [...]

May is National Foster Care Month and we’re celebrating state and federal legislative changes that will positively impact youth in foster care in 2018 and beyond. Two major legislative reforms happened in recent months, first in Congress, and then in the Kentucky legislature. We discussed here how House Bill 1, which received bipartisan support by the Kentucky Senators and Representatives, will help ensure more kids in Kentucky have safe, permanent homes. These changes will be [...]

As House Bill 1 moves through the Kentucky legislature, we wanted to take a deeper look into the specifics of the bill and its components. HB 1, which is co-sponsored by Representatives David Meade and Joni Jenkins, seeks to keep kids safe and improve how Kentucky responds to and supports families. The bill is a big step toward getting us to a place where all the parts of the child welfare system and related policies [...]

All Kentucky kids deserve to be in safe, loving, and stable homes. Last year, the House Working Group on Adoptions began formally meeting with the goal of bringing innovative reforms to the adoption process in Kentucky. However, the Working Group moved well beyond the scope of adoptions and took a comprehensive look at the whole continuum of care within the child welfare system. With the bipartisan leadership of Representatives David Meade and Joni Jenkins, the [...]

Every year, the first Sunday after Labor Day, the United States recognizes and celebrates Grandparents.   Grandparents are important members of our families as they are the keepers of our family history, provide insight and advice on life’s milestones, and help keep family connected. In Kentucky, there are tens of thousands of grandparents who have also stepped up to raise their grandchildren.    There are several reasons for grandparents to raise their grandchildren, including parental death, parental substance abuse, military [...]

Every kid needs a family and a safe place to call home. On January 27, 2017, the Sixth Circuit Court ruled that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Cabinet) must provide foster care maintenance payments to “approved” relatives caring for children placed by the Cabinet, affirming that core belief in the importance of family. When kids can’t live safely with their parents, the next best alternative is to live with a family member. Placement [...]

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Kentucky Youth Advocates is a proud partner of the Face It® Movement to End Child Abuse. The Face It Movement was conceived and created in 2012 as a response to the public outcry against the increasing number of child abuse deaths in the Commonwealth, and it officially launched in April 2013 as an initiative led by Kosair Charities®. Face It directly addresses the unacceptable incidences of child abuse [...]

When the child welfare system enters a child’s life and determines they are not safe at home, the child’s journey into the out-of-home care system begins. Potential placements include: A recent story on NPR’s Youth Radio details a young man’s 20 years spent in the foster care system. He entered out-of-home care as a baby, his siblings scattered through the system, and finally left the system at age 21. He says they were separated and [...]

In Kentucky, there are nearly 1,800 children with a goal of adoption as part of the plans created for them by adults making very tough decisions. Being without a family should not be part of any child’s plan. It is, however, the unfortunate reality for many children in the Commonwealth and across the United States. As we start off the month of November, a month where many make plans for family gatherings to celebrate Thanksgiving, [...]