Blog Archives - Kentucky Youth Advocates

Actions to Mitigate Food Insecurity in the United States

Actions to Mitigate Food Insecurity in the United States

By Nikky Patel, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates In the past year, many Americans have experienced a lack of access to healthy food and, although food insecurity is not a new issue, we have vividly felt its effect throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the federal government and Congressional leaders have been responsive to this issue and continue to apply lessons learned throughout the pandemic to take action that will address hunger and food insecurity in [...]

By Kentucky Youth Advocates|2021-06-16T13:00:43-04:00June 16th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity|

Trauma-Informed Plans: An Opportunity for More Positive Learning Environments

Trauma-Informed Plans: An Opportunity for More Positive Learning Environments

When the gavel sounded on the 2019 legislative session, advocates across the state celebrated the passage of Senate Bill 1, the School Safety and Resiliency Act. This bipartisan effort brought together lawmakers, behavioral health experts, and school administrators to ensure all students can learn in a safe and supportive school environment. While the bill encompassed multiple areas of school safety, including requiring procedures and oversight to strengthen school security if a threat occurs, it also [...]

By Carli Mosby|2021-06-10T17:09:09-04:00June 10th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|

Health Coverage Update for Families

Health Coverage Update for Families

Among the provisions in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) to provide COVID-19 relief is reduced-cost health care coverage for uninsured and current enrollees of the federal health insurance marketplace. Research explicitly tells us that there is a link between parent’s coverage and their children’s coverage, which means as more parents receive coverage and care, so will their kids. An estimated 7,100 Kentuckians with income below 150% of the federal poverty level are newly [...]

By Mahak Kalra|2021-06-09T09:22:14-04:00June 9th, 2021|Blog, Health, Medicaid|

Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth Health and Mental Health

Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth Health and Mental Health

The Kentucky legislature has proven that a bipartisan blend of head and heart can be effective when addressing young people’s well-being. From school safety and resilience to reforming the child welfare system, they have shown that finding common ground to achieve common sense solutions results in critical systemic changes. And issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, though strongly polarizing, do not have to be any different. There should be an unanimity of voice [...]

By Cortney Downs|2021-05-20T11:42:19-04:00May 20th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|

Closing the Gaps in Behavioral Health Care for Kids in Louisville

Closing the Gaps in Behavioral Health Care for Kids in Louisville

In partnership with the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, Kentucky Youth Advocates hosted a virtual behavioral health summit on May 11th. The Closing the Gaps in Behavioral Health Care for Kids summit brought together over one hundred youth, parents, and professionals from various sectors including educators, mental health professionals, legislators, juvenile justice system staff, child advocates, child welfare system representatives, Kentucky’s philanthropic community, and more. The event featured a data presentation on the recent research conducted by KYA and supplemental data from Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) providing context to [...]

By Alicia Whatley|2021-05-18T16:24:54-04:00May 18th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health, Race Equity, Youth Justice|

Youth Speaking Up for Youth in Foster Care

Youth Speaking Up for Youth in Foster Care

By Dana Cole My name is Dana Cole, and I am a new member with the Voices of Commonwealth. I chose this job because it is my passion to help advocate for other foster youths — former and current. I was in foster care for about 10 years, so I have been through and have seen some things throughout my journey. I think being able to advocate and help others that may not have a [...]

By Kentucky Youth Advocates|2021-05-18T15:58:18-04:00May 18th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Emergency Broadband Benefit: Let’s Get Families Connected

Emergency Broadband Benefit: Let’s Get Families Connected

Let’s get more communities and families digitally connected! May 12, 2021 marks the launch of the temporary, federal Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. This program, overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is geared toward connecting more households to the internet at a time when we rely on digital connectivity more than ever before. The $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program, established by Congress last year in response to ongoing economic hardships caused by the [...]

By Mara Powell|2021-05-13T09:49:10-04:00May 13th, 2021|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|

True Up is Joining Kentucky Youth Advocates to Maximize Impact on Older Youth in Foster Care

True Up is Joining Kentucky Youth Advocates to Maximize Impact on Older Youth in Foster Care

CONTACT: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky Youth Advocates and True Up are pleased to announce a formal partnership between the two organizations. As of April 1, 2021, True Up is officially an affiliated initiative of Kentucky Youth Advocates. True Up Executive Director Nikki Thornton has joined Kentucky Youth Advocates’ team with the intent to expand on True Up’s successful track record of engaging, empowering, and connecting young people ages 16 and older who are currently [...]

By Kentucky Youth Advocates|2021-05-13T09:03:59-04:00May 12th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|

Statement on Facebook’s Plan to Create an Instagram for Kids

Statement on Facebook’s Plan to Create an Instagram for Kids

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Mental health, cyber bullying, and safety online are among the top concerns for families, schools, law enforcement, and child advocates prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and especially now as our kids must navigate the virtual world more regularly. With the announcement from Facebook to launch an Instagram for kids, those concerns will amplify for many. When used properly, [...]

By Kentucky Youth Advocates|2021-05-12T09:37:02-04:00May 12th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, News Room|

Call for Photos: Let’s See Your KY Kids!

Call for Photos: Let’s See Your KY Kids!

Kentucky Youth Advocates is looking for photos of Kentucky kids to include in the 2021 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book and other Kentucky Youth Advocates publications. We know you all proudly share pictures of your kids and grandkids by hanging them on your refrigerator and posting them on social media. Here’s your chance to promote those cute kids through Kentucky Youth Advocates’ materials. We need your photos by August 1st so please start sending them [...]

By Mara Powell|2021-05-10T22:11:05-04:00May 7th, 2021|Blog, Kids Count|

ACTION ALERTS!