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About Tamara Vest

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So far Tamara Vest has created 8 blog entries.

Federal Update to Support Relative Foster Care Providers, LGBTQI+ Foster Children, and Family Legal Representation

Recently, the Biden-Harris Administration proposed three new federal rules related to the child welfare system in an effort to expand supports for children and families who come into contact with the system as a result of child abuse and neglect. Those three new rules are explained below based on how we anticipate Kentucky’s system will be impacted.  Supporting Relative Foster Care Providers As of September 5, 2023, there were over 1,000 children placed in relative [...]

By |2023-10-26T11:35:17-04:00October 26th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
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Adolescent Mental Health is Declining and We Need To Understand Why

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the prevalence of mental health challenges across the nation, especially among youth. While there were policies proposed to expand access to and affordability of mental health treatment and to improve social indicators of well-being, youth mental health is still declining according to a recent report from Child Trends. Improvements in social indicators of well-being have caused an increase in the thriving index for youth, however, indicators of depression, anxiety, and suicide [...]

By |2023-09-13T11:18:17-04:00September 13th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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Journey to Success KY: Community Conversations Coming to a Town Near You!

Journey to Success is a policy advocacy campaign that seeks to improve opportunities and outcomes for all youth and young adults who experience foster care by promoting their healing, family connections, and economic security. Kentucky Youth Advocates has developed a team of foster care alumni that represent the Journey to Success campaign in our state. In 2021-2022, the Journey to Success Kentucky team met with staffers of Kentucky’s Federal Delegates to advocate for policy [...]

By |2023-08-01T13:35:35-04:00August 1st, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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The Growing Movement of Thriving Families, Safer Children

“Hope means we all have a role to play in ensuring that all children in America grow up safely in thriving families and supportive communities.” Casey Family Programs aims to inspire hope, and according to their recent 2023 Signature Report overviewing the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) collaborative, there are reasons to have hope and to act on it. Since 2005, the number of children in care across the nation has decreased by 23%, and [...]

By |2023-07-12T12:53:30-04:00July 12th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
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A Look at Power Sharing During Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month.  Did you know that Kentucky has over 8,500 children in out-of-home care? As of April 2, 2023, nearly 30 percent of those children have a permanent goal of adoption, 53 percent have a goal of reunification, and the remaining 17 percent may have other permanency goals, such as emancipation or locating a fictive kin/relative.   Nearly 70 percent of Kentucky’s kids in out-of-home care are placed in foster homes, while [...]

By |2023-05-03T14:22:52-04:00May 3rd, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Social Workers Breaking Barriers for Kids

March is National Social Work Month! The theme for 2023 is Social Work Breaks Barriers. Did you know there are over 750,000 social workers in the nation?  Social workers have a responsibility to serve others through lenses of compassion, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Social workers implement their core values of service, social justice, the importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of the person, integrity, and competence into their job duties every day.  With so [...]

By |2023-03-29T17:16:48-04:00March 29th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Updates on Bills Impacting the Child Welfare System

Though the 2023 legislative session is soon ending, there are many bills that affect children and families making progress within the General Assembly. There are 4 important child welfare bills that child advocates have been keeping an eye on: Senate Bills 48 and 229 and House Bills 41 and 288.   While there has been a 33% reduction in victims from 2017 to 2021, Kentucky ranks 6th in the nation in child victims of maltreatment with [...]

By |2023-03-16T17:34:24-04:00March 16th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Kentucky’s Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel 2022 Report

Kentucky’s Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel released their 2022 Annual Child Fatality Report, which consists of a comprehensive review of every child death and near death within the 2021 fiscal year referred to the panel by the Department for Community Based Services and Department for Public Health. This panel is required by state law to meet throughout the year to review each child’s case and make recommendations to prevent future incidents. This [...]

By |2023-02-22T10:48:21-05:00February 22nd, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety|
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