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Supporting Child Hunger Efforts Beyond Nutrition Month

During Nutrition Month in March, national and state advocacy groups are asking for increased supports and efforts around feeding programs. As Kentucky continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we know child feeding programs are essential for kids and families as more than 20% of Kentucky households with children reported sometimes or often not having enough food to eat at the end of 2020, a rate that has been increasing since October. Temporary changes to [...]

By |2021-04-06T12:40:58-04:00March 31st, 2021|Blog, Economic Security, Health|
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Assessment of the Louisville Youth Behavioral Health Landscape and Recommendations

Kentucky Youth Advocates, in partnership with the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, conducted a community assessment to better understand the behavioral health landscape for adolescents in Louisville. The assessment included ten focus groups and an online survey during the Fall of 2020 with behavioral health providers, pediatricians, educators, residential treatment staff, juvenile justice staff, community support organizations, case managers, parents, and youth.   Respondents pointed to cultural barriers as one of the most significant obstacles for [...]

By |2021-05-18T16:10:47-04:00March 30th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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Study Reveals Gaps in Behavioral Health Services for Louisville’s Vulnerable Youth

Study Reveals Gaps in Behavioral Health Services for Louisville’s Vulnerable Youth Kentucky Youth Advocates and Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence Lead Collaborative Effort to Identify Solutions and Address Barriers   CONTACT: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky Youth Advocates, in partnership with the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, conducted 10 virtual focus groups and disseminated an online survey to learn more about behavioral health supports and services available to youth in Louisville, along with [...]

By |2021-03-30T11:56:04-04:00March 30th, 2021|Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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Healthy Habits in Childhood Lead to Healthy Choices in Adulthood

March is National Nutrition Month, an important time to recognize and celebrate alongside advocates and the community. Research shows that food and beverage choices are important factors for healthy growth and development, and maintaining good health and oral health. In partnership with the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition, we promote optimal health and oral health throughout the lifetime, but we know that health habits learned early on can lead to healthy choices in adulthood.   One of the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children 2020 legislative priorities related to nutrition – health [...]

By |2021-03-18T16:56:39-04:00March 18th, 2021|Blog, Education, Health|
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The American Rescue Plan: What’s in it and how will it impact families?

This week, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law, the American Rescue Plan, which aims to deliver continued aid to the American people as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to subside. The legislation provides a total of approximately $1.9 trillion divided among numerous priorities and is considered to be among the most progressive pieces of legislation in a generation.   Here are some of the ways the American Rescue Plan will impact children and [...]

By |2021-03-11T20:44:36-05:00March 11th, 2021|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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World Hearing Day 2021: A Reminder for Parents and Guardians

By Danielle Hempel, MSSW Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates For many people, the five basic senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) are not something they give much thought to. However, for those with hearing loss, it is something most of us think about everyday, including myself.   After suffering from tinnitus, or ringing in your ears, since childhood, I was finally diagnosed with asymmetrical hearing loss when I was 22, joining nearly 700,000 Kentucky residents who are deaf or hard of hearing (HOH). For me, it was almost hard to [...]

By |2021-03-02T12:36:57-05:00March 2nd, 2021|Blog, Health|
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New P-EBT Benefits Are Coming!

VIEW LATEST UPDATE ON SUMMER EBT AND CHILD CARE P-EBT IN OUR AUGUST 2, 2021 BLOG POST. Updated May 14, 2021 We are excited to announce that Kentucky has received final federal approval and the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefit has been extended for October 2020-June 2021. This round of benefits will be administered differently than previous rounds, so please read the following information from the state carefully. View the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and [...]

By |2021-08-06T11:54:51-04:00February 26th, 2021|Blog, Education, Health|
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Guest Post: Prioritizing Oral Health Sets Kids Up for a Healthier, Brighter Future

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Herald Leader February 25, 2021. By Dr. Stephanie Poynter It is no secret that Kentucky has historically had a poor reputation when it comes to our dental health. In a recent study ranking states with the best and worst dental health, the Commonwealth ranked 41st in the nation in indicators of dental wellness. We have among the lowest dentists per capita, highest sugar-sweetened beverages consumption, and highest [...]

By |2021-02-25T15:49:52-05:00February 25th, 2021|Blog, Health, Medicaid|
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2021 Bills to Watch that Seek to Advance Race Equity for Kids

As our commonwealth works to overcome the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and systemic racism, Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children have a common vision of a brighter future for every Kentucky kid and their family. We are counting on legislative leaders to prioritize policies that advance race equity and address systemic racism in the current and future legislative sessions. We previously shared our commitment to ensure all policies within the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda [...]

By |2021-02-18T14:26:41-05:00February 18th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Thank You to Our 2020 Census Champions Awardees

We love giving awards to decision makers who have stepped up for kids. This year during Children's Advocacy Week, in addition to the usual Champions for Children awards given to legislators who prioritized kids during last year’s General Assembly, we also gave 2020 Census Champions awards to those in state government who went above and beyond to promote a fair and complete 2020 Census count of the commonwealth. Going into 2020, I thought the [...]

By |2021-02-16T15:21:05-05:00February 16th, 2021|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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