Bloom Community Spotlight: Early Childhood Education and Understanding ACEs

To help prevent and mitigate childhood adversity, many on-the-ground community partners are hard at work providing needed resources and support to Kentucky kids and families. The Bloom Community Spotlight blog series highlights the important work being done by Bloom Kentucky community partners throughout the Commonwealth. This month, Bloom Kentucky reached out to child advocate, Phoenix Peeler, to share their insight of years working with youth. Phoenix Peeler, Care and Education Coach For over 25 years, [...]

By |2022-12-07T17:06:23-05:00December 7th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Education|

Addressing the Leading Cause of Child Death in the Commonwealth: Firearms

At the final 2022 hearing for the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity, Rep. Keturah Herron presented on legislation that would develop an Office of Gun Violence Prevention in Kentucky’s Department of Public Health. The office would take the lead in creating gun violence policy recommendations, community-based intervention and prevention ideas, and collecting and disseminating data that shows the geographic region, frequency, and the nature of the violence (e.g., self-inflicted, intimate partner, community, etc.). [...]

By |2022-12-06T13:20:44-05:00December 6th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health, Race Equity|

New Report: Analysis of Kentucky’s Residential Foster Care

New Report: Analysis of Kentucky’s Residential Foster Care   Featuring Interviews of Youth with Lived Experience and Recommendations  LOUISVILLE, KY – Residential and institutional facilities are meant for youth experiencing crises, yet these settings are often over-utilized due to lack of family-based foster care rather than a clinical need for the placement. The Residential Foster Care Analysis Report, released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, examines issues often seen in residential and institutional placements and offers [...]

By |2022-12-07T13:19:01-05:00November 30th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, News Room, Race Equity|

OP-ED: Kentucky youth say ‘Listen to us!’ — and hear us about decisions made about our futures

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the NKY Tribune on November 23, 2022. By Jordan Joslin, Kori Wheeler, and Kirsten Yancy As the November midterm elections have come to a close, Kentuckians are now looking ahead to the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly and Governor's race. Voters will make their way to the polls next November, and we – Kentucky's youth – are relying on those same voters to keep us top of mind when casting [...]

Introducing KY SEAT: Ensuring Parent Voice has a SEAT at the Table

Beginning in June, as one of the Kentucky Thriving Families, Safer Children goals, the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) partnered with Kentucky Youth Advocates to launch a Birth Parent Advisory Council. This council includes a diverse group of parents from across the Commonwealth who gather around Kentucky’s child welfare system.  Unlike typical decision makers for policies and services that affect families, this group has something extra to contribute — personal lived expertise as a [...]

By |2023-06-13T10:12:23-04:00November 21st, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|

Kids Can’t Wait: Federal Nutrition Needs

As families across Kentucky are preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, schools are preparing for how they are going to feed kids next summer and school year. With 1 in 6 Kentucky kids experiencing hunger, the in-school and summer meals schools serve are more important than ever. However, without Congress taking quick action to extend federal COVID-19 era programs and waivers, many schools will not be able to continue operating these programs and many Kentucky families will [...]

By |2022-11-21T15:47:40-05:00November 21st, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|

A Look at the New Prison-to-Work Pipeline Initiative

Kentucky’s workforce has seen a decrease in workforce participation and many have collaborated on efforts seeking solutions to eliminate barriers that often prohibit people from finding a sustainable job. At a recent press conference, Governor Beshear announced efforts to boost workforce participation. Ashli Watts with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spoke to how our workforce is currently at 58%, still below pre-pandemic levels. Currently, there are more than 160,000 open jobs throughout the commonwealth and [...]

By |2022-11-17T17:30:51-05:00November 17th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, Race Equity|

Youth Voices in the 2022 KIDS COUNT County Data Book Release

Each year, the Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book allows readers and leaders to investigate areas in which Kentucky and its counties are making progress and areas needing focused attention for improvement. The publication highlights data in four domains of child well-being in Kentucky: economic security, education, health, and family and community. As we look ahead to the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly and Governor’s race, Kentucky Youth Advocates invited young people from across the Commonwealth to [...]

2022 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book: A Look at Data Trends and Kentucky Kids’ Ideas for a Brighter Future in the Commonwealth

2022 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book: A Look at Data Trends and Kentucky Kids’ Ideas for a Brighter Future in the Commonwealth Featuring the latest county-level data for key measures of child well-being Louisville, KY – For optimal well-being, children need thriving communities that support strong families, good health, protection from harm, economic security, and a high-quality education. The 2022 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book features the latest data on 16 measures of [...]

Updates on CCAP to Benefit Families, Child Care Providers, and Local Economies

The regulations for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) have been updated multiple times in the past two years in order to better support Kentucky’s working families and Kentucky’s child care providers. These updates have been possible due to one-time COVID-19 federal relief funds.   Several new programs have been implemented in the past couple of months that benefit working families and child care providers. Here’s an overview of the programs and how they are [...]

By |2022-11-09T14:02:05-05:00November 9th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security|
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