By Zach Crouch, member for the Health Youth Ambassadors Zach shared the following speech as the opening of the 2025 Rally for Kentucky Kids in the Rotunda at the annual Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. Welcome to our 2025 Children’s Advocacy Day! My name is Zachary Crouch. Words can not describe how it makes me feel to see this Rotunda packed full of youth advocates and many elected officials joining today. Thank you, Governor [...]
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org FRANKFORT, KY – Hundreds of child advocates are convening this week for Children’s Advocacy Week, urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a unified policy agenda focused on creating brighter futures for all Kentucky kids and families. Today is Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol, where community organizations, professionals who work with kids and families, and young people from across the Commonwealth gather in Frankfort to meet with their legislators, attend committee [...]
By Phoenix Berry, member of the 2025 Housing Policy Ambassadors cohort The feeling of loss is something we all experience, whether that's losing an item, ourselves, or another. I first remember losing my housing when I was in elementary school. My family was evicted from our home due to a public nuisance violation after the police were called because my mother was attempting to flee her abusive partner. We lost everything from baby photos to [...]
Did you know that positive experiences in childhood can shape lifelong resilience and well-being? These moments, known as Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), create a strong foundation for emotional and social development. While Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) focus on difficulties and trauma, PCEs emphasize the relationships, environments, and opportunities that nurture a child’s growth. In the Bloom Kentucky blog series, we explore how fostering these positive experiences can support children across the Bluegrass. Today, we’re [...]
Kentucky’s Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel has released its 2024 Annual Report, which includes a comprehensive review of every child death and near-death in the state fiscal year 2023 referred to the panel by the Department for Community Based Services and the Department for Public Health. This state-mandated panel meets throughout the year to review each case and make policy recommendations aimed at preventing future incidents. This report should be considered alongside [...]
The following testimony was shared on February 18, 2025 at the Senate Licensing & Occupations Committee on Senate Bill 100, sponsored by Senator Jimmy Higdon. Testimony by Delanie, a freshman at Boyd County High School in Ashland and a Youth Advisory Board Member at #iCANendthetrend: My name is Delanie, and I’m here not just as a youth advocate, but as a representative of a generation that is being targeted and exploited by an industry that profits [...]
Many moons ago, before I was born, and when my brother was just a little boy – the sky one day turned the color purple and in moments, the wind picked up and my family found themselves huddled under an old pick-up truck praying that the wind would subside. That day a tornado hit my home lane of Hillsboro and turned my family’s single-wide sideways. To this day, whenever the wind picks up, my father’s [...]
Paid family medical leave is an essential strategy for healthy moms and healthy babies. The benefits of employers offering paid leave includes: Mothers get to heal before returning to work after a delivery or c-section. Mothers have the time and opportunity to breastfeed their infants. Infants can spend time bonding with their mothers to establish a pattern of healthy social and emotional development. Infant mortality rates decrease. Families still have a steady source of income [...]
Every parent wants a stable child care option to keep their kids safe and help them learn and grow. Taliyah's Story My world was turned upside down this summer when the daycare that my children attended told me that they could no longer serve my two-year-old son. The director explained that my son needed more one-on-one support and that the center was too short staffed to be able to provide the care he needed. I [...]
By Kiera Dunk Content warning: This blog, or pages it links to, contains information about sensitive subjects including abuse and violence. The most recent data released shows that rates of child abuse are down since 2019, but still not enough. This is not acceptable, and I think you all will agree, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is CAPABLE of doing much better. In 2023, I discovered a national organization called The National Link Coalition. This group has [...]
