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Statement on Final Passage of SB 150

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – As the ramifications of Senate Bill 150 with pieces of House Bill 470 in an amendment are dissected, reasonable folks from across the political spectrum agree on several tenets. First, this is not a Kentucky measure – the genesis of this measure springs from a national agenda of fearmongering. Secondly, gender affirming care is not about a [...]

By |2023-03-17T12:16:00-04:00March 16th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health, News Room|
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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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Updates on KYGA23 Bills Impacting the Juvenile Justice System

Updated April 5, 2023 The 2023 Kentucky General Assembly has an increased focus on the juvenile justice system in light of recent concerns about safety and workforce capacity within the Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, and broader ongoing concerns about community violence. Three bills have been filed in the House and Senate in an effort to begin addressing some of these issues. In the Senate, two bills that will strengthen oversight and improve workforce development [...]

By |2023-04-05T16:22:18-04:00March 7th, 2023|Blog, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Thriving Families, Safer Children Kentucky in 2023 and Beyond: What to Expect

2023 marks the third year of Kentucky’s participation as a child welfare jurisdiction site for the Thriving Families, Safer Children movement. With the recent addition of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the national partnership roster, the Thriving Families, Safer Children Kentucky effort continues to make strides toward rethinking how America protects children and supports families.  What can we expect from Thriving Families, [...]

By |2023-06-13T10:11:44-04:00March 7th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
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“I wish for my story of paralyzing fear, shame, and loneliness resulting from abuse by my teacher to be the last in Kentucky.”

By Kotomi Yokokura, BASW Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates I was in high school when my teacher began texting me during and outside of school hours. He would work to gain my trust, offering me homemade food and taking interest in my personal life, all behind the closed doors of his office. While I did not know it at the time, these texts and one on one meetings would be the beginning stages of grooming [...]

By |2023-03-02T15:43:36-05:00March 2nd, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Protecting the Mental Heath and Well-being of LGBTQ+ Youth

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Everyone has had struggles over the past few years, but kids have been hit especially hard.  During the pandemic, life was upended for them, and it has furthered the increase in mental health concerns among children and youth. For instance, in 2020, 15.9% of children and teens struggled with anxiety or depression, and in 2022, as many [...]

By |2023-03-02T17:26:18-05:00March 2nd, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|
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Medicaid and KCHIP Continuous Enrollment Ending Soon

As we welcome Spring and warmer weather, we also see the end of a Public Health Emergency (PHE) declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This declaration brought with it several changes to public benefit programs – including Medicaid and the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP).   One of the biggest changes for those with Medicaid and CHIP coverage was continuous enrollment – this means that for more than 3 years, individuals have [...]

By |2023-03-01T14:13:39-05:00March 1st, 2023|Blog, Health, Medicaid|
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Health Youth Ambassadors Rally on Behalf of Kentucky Kids and Families

Kentucky Youth Advocates’ Health Youth Ambassadors cohort, made up of high school students from across the state, joined hundreds of fellow young people, community advocates, and elected officials at the Capitol for the Rally for Kentucky Kids on February 8th – the first in-person rally with child advocates since 2020. The cohort took part in a two-day Children’s Advocacy Week Retreat in Frankfort where they spent time prepping Tuesday evening before Wednesday’s Rally Day [...]

By |2023-02-23T13:25:48-05:00February 23rd, 2023|Blog, Health|
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Health Youth Ambassador Speaks Up on Maternal Mental Health in Kentucky

By: Lyba Masroor, Health Youth Ambassador For many mothers, the birth of their child brings a new sense of happiness, excitement, and love into their lives. However, some mothers can face the opposite feelings. For many mothers, a new sense of depression may also impact their lives.  This depression, also known as postpartum depression (PPD), affects 1 in 8 women who recently gave birth. So what exactly does PPD look like?  According to the American [...]

By |2023-02-23T13:05:49-05:00February 23rd, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Health, Race Equity|
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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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