Every year, we at Kentucky Youth Advocates anxiously watch the final days and hours of the state legislative session, hopeful our legislators will send a few more ‘good for kids’ bills to the Governor’s desk – even as we know the realities of those odds are stacked against us. Of the 1,293 bills and resolutions filed this year, approximately 174 passed through both Chambers and were signed, vetoed and then overrode, or became [...]
Every two years, our state lawmakers convene to shape the Commonwealth’s biennial budget – taking into consideration the needs across Kentucky, the limitations or opportunities of the revenue, and, especially of late, sustaining a healthy rainy day fund. Kentucky’s last few budgets were bolstered by federal COVID dollars. This time around, our lawmakers not only had to navigate less federal support, but also the budget realities that federal HR1 has brought to our [...]
The legal system can often feel like a giant maze, filled with confusing language, unclear pathways, and intimidating rooms. Imagine being a kid introduced to the courts system for the first time at the age of three, or five or even fifteen, not really knowing what to expect. We're breaking down what legal representation looks like within Kentucky's child welfare system and beyond for children and families, including the benefits, who provides it, what [...]
The Regional Prevention Collaboratives, one of the Thriving Families, Safer Children Kentucky initiatives, continue to pave the way for proactive, community-driven resources and support for children and families. These collaboratives began during the summer of 2022 with convenings, called Visioning Sessions, where we gathered those living and working in communities to discuss local strengths and gaps, and then brainstormed ideas for community-led efforts that could prevent families from coming to the attention of the child [...]
Co-authored by Kathleen Baldwin, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates During the 2024 legislative session we saw some MAJOR wins for kinship families in Kentucky, which will be going into effect over the coming months. Research shows that placement with family members or a safe adult known to the child, rather than traditional foster care, can have lifelong benefits for a child and their family. Children placed in kinship settings have more placement stability, are less [...]
Greetings, from the road! The Sowing Resilience: A Bloom Kentucky Listening Tour is about halfway complete. We are making 19 stops in total across every region in Kentucky. We have powerful partners in every region that have been integral to the success of this Listening Tour series. Much like the motto used by the fabled Dillon Panthers in the hit TV show Friday Night Lights, our Kentucky Youth Advocates team members are focused and operating [...]
What does Bloom Kentucky and Mickey Mouse have in common this summer? They are both ALL EARS. As soon as the gavel fell for the 2023 state legislative session, Bloom Kentucky already had a plan to get advocates excited about 2024. Kentucky Youth Advocates and Bloom Kentucky want to hear from you! During May and June 2023, we’re hosting regionally-based listening sessions across the Commonwealth to bring local advocates and leaders together to identify strategies [...]
“Hope blooms when the time is ready.” – Debasish Mridha After seeing waves of the opioid epidemic pass through Kentucky since the late 1990s, Kentucky is ready and well-equipped to turn the tide. Due to actions taken by all three branches of Kentucky’s government, and major efforts by the Attorney General’s office specifically, we are set to see hundreds of millions of dollars come directly to Kentucky from the opioid settlement. With investments and persistence, [...]
September is National Kinship Care Month, and it is also recognized in Kentucky as Kinship Care Month by Governor Andy Beshear. It is important to continue lifting up the voices of our relative and fictive kin caregivers to ensure the children in their care have every opportunity to grow up to be successful and thriving Kentucky citizens. Kinship and fictive kin caregivers continue to step up for children in Kentucky to ensure they stay safely [...]
The Thriving Families, Safer Children work in Kentucky continues in many different ways among the partner organizations. One of the ways that the partnership is working towards ensuring kids are safe and families are thriving is by engaging in locally-focused conversations around primary and secondary child abuse prevention. The Department for Community Based Services, Administrative Office of the Courts, and Kentucky Youth Advocates facilitated 9 regional community conversations called Visioning Sessions to engage each region [...]
