Recapping the 2024 Legislative Session & the Impact on Kentucky Kids

The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a coalition of non-profit, public, and private organizations that stands on three pillars: thriving communities launch strong families, strong families launch successful kids, and successful kids launch a prosperous future for Kentucky. The Blueprint speaks with a common voice to create brighter futures for all Kentucky kids and their families. Learn more about the 2024 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities at kyyouth.org/blueprintKY. As we recover from eclipse mania in [...]

Kinship Across Kentucky: Listening Sessions and Program/Policy Updates

This spring, the Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky will host listening sessions across the nine Department for Community Based Services regions with our co-hosts from the Kentucky Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Network. The importance of these sessions cannot be overstated. Kinship care is when a relative or close family friend steps in to care for a child when the parents are unable to do so.  This is a noble but often challenging commitment. [...]

By |2024-05-16T15:28:24-04:00April 11th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

How Community Members Can Step up for Children Experiencing a “Shared Sentence”

When a parent is incarcerated, children often feel the impact on their lives in many ways. Families might lose income and have a harder time making ends meet. Children will not see their parent as often, or be able to connect with them in the same ways.   On a recent webinar, “Community Strategies to Support Children with Incarcerated Parents,” participants heard from a panel of people who personally experienced the separation caused by incarceration, [...]

By |2024-04-11T15:50:09-04:00April 11th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, Race Equity|

When Risk of Harm Puts Families at Risk

By Jeanna C., KY SEAT Member When we think of child protection, what usually comes to mind is how child abuse and neglect is portrayed by the media. We might think of a child who is subject to harsh and unusual punishment or deprived of basic needs. This can lead us to assume that Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement exists for bad parents who do bad things to kids.  What we may not know is [...]

By |2024-04-03T15:25:43-04:00April 3rd, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Bloom Kentucky Listening & Learning Session: Winchester

What happens when passionate people who want to make a difference come together to listen and learn from one another? Pretty incredible things.  On March 26th, Bloom Kentucky and the Greater Clark Foundation came together in Winchester at the Clark County Public Library for a Listening & Learning Session. During this session, attendees learned more about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Positive Childhood Experiences, Clark County regional data, received an update from the Sowing Resilience [...]

By |2024-04-03T11:04:30-04:00April 3rd, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky|

Child Abuse Prevention Month: Strengthen Families & Protective Factors

By Leah Wade, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates  April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Child abuse is something that everyone can play a part in preventing. From business professionals to grandparents, to neighbors, to teachers, to grocery store clerks, everyone has a role in preventing child abuse and promoting safe environments for children. According to the recent national Child Maltreatment Report, Kentucky ranks 14th in the nation for child maltreatment. Kentucky is 60% higher than [...]

By |2024-04-01T13:28:55-04:00April 1st, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Celebrating and Supporting Kentucky Parents with KY SEAT

By Jeanna C., KY SEAT Member March is Parenting Awareness Month, and KY SEAT is taking this opportunity to celebrate all the amazing moms, dads, stepmoms and dads, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers who work tirelessly to raise happy and healthy children! Parenting is a challenging but incredibly rewarding journey. It takes patience, love, and a lot of strength. This month, we aim to appreciate and recognize the crucial impact parents have on shaping their children's [...]

By |2024-03-28T14:28:02-04:00March 28th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Celebrating and Empowering Social Workers

By Leah Wade, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates  March is National Social Work Month, and this year the theme is Empowering Social Workers. The theme of this month highlights the need for higher compensation and support for the high-demand roles that social workers engage in. This month is used as a way to celebrate the contributions that social workers are making to individuals, families, and communities. It is a time to support the ongoing work [...]

Understanding Chronic Absenteeism vs. Truancy and Best Practices to Address It

Understanding the nuances between chronic absenteeism and truancy is essential for educators, policymakers, and communities to enhance student engagement and success. Both of these terms often get conflated, yet they describe different patterns of absence with distinct implications for how schools may address absenteeism.  For this reason, it’s important to know these differences, understand and use accurate data when describing these terms, and recognize that addressing absenteeism is a multifaceted issue that can be addressed [...]

By |2024-03-21T12:36:00-04:00March 21st, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Youth Justice|

Kentuckians: We Need Your Input on Tools Needed to Address Opioid Use in Your Community

By Andrew Alvey, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates As Bloom Kentucky has detailed, the opioid crisis has significantly impacted all of Kentucky’s communities. In 2020, Kentucky had the third-highest age-adjusted drug overdose fatality rate in the United States. This statistic shows the urgency with which we must come together to create opportunities for healing and resilience. With support from the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, Kentucky Youth Advocates is leading a project to collect [...]

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