By Dr. Julia Richerson As a pediatrician, we have the honor of working with families and children as they grow and develop as both children and parents. We develop very strong relationships with the families we work with and try as hard as we can to be a valuable resource to them. We do all of this in brief 10-15 minute visits every few months for the first few years of the child’s life. To [...]
A youth leader shares her journey through out-of-home care and encourages advocates to speak up for the voiceless, including those in foster care. By Tessa, a member of the First Lady’s Youth Leadership Council through the Homeward Bound Shelter in Covington, KY Youth advocacy is really important to me because I never really had a say in what happened to me when I was removed from my mom’s house. I was removed from the house [...]
Last weekend, young leaders from across the state came together to celebrate their first year as the First Lady’s Youth Leadership Council (FLYLC). First Lady Glenna Bevin initiated the Council last spring with a focus on empowering youth in the improvement of policies and practices related to the child welfare system and helping more kids have a safe and loving home. The FLYLC met with Glenda Wright, the president of Voices of the Commonwealth. Glenda [...]
Since our founding in 1977, we at Kentucky Youth Advocates have made it our vision to make Kentucky the best place in America to be a kid. Forty years ago, with a much smaller staff and budget, advocates came together to find solutions for Kentucky’s kids. What we lacked in resources we made up for in our unwavering commitment to ensure a brighter future for our youngest citizens. As we kick off our 40th birthday [...]
Throughout May, the nation is celebrating Foster Care Month with a focus on empowering caregivers and strengthening families because all children need a safe and loving family. To keep kids safe, Kentucky needs a child welfare system that responds effectively and thoroughly when abuse is suspected. If a child has experienced abuse or neglect, family is truly the best medicine to help those children thrive. To keep children connected to a family, Kentucky can intervene [...]
This blog was originally posted by Casey Family Programs on April 24, 2017. Photo courtesy of Casey Family Programs May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize the nearly 413,000 youth under 18 who are in foster care in America and who need a permanent, loving family. This year’s theme, “Empowering Caregivers, Strengthening Families,” acknowledges resource families — which include foster parents, foster-to-adopt families, and relative/kinship caregivers — as critical partners [...]
Every kid needs a family and a safe place to call home. On January 27, 2017, the Sixth Circuit Court ruled that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Cabinet) must provide foster care maintenance payments to “approved” relatives caring for children placed by the Cabinet, affirming that core belief in the importance of family. When kids can’t live safely with their parents, the next best alternative is to live with a family member. Placement [...]
Kentucky Youth Advocates is looking for photos of Kentucky kids to include in the 2017 Kentucky KIDS COUNT County Data Book and other Kentucky Youth Advocates publications. We know you all proudly share pictures of your kids and grandkids by carrying them in your wallet and posting them on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s a great chance to promote those great kids through Kentucky Youth Advocates’ materials. We need your photos by August 31st so please start sending them in. In order to [...]
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on April 26, 2017. Henry Grunwald, TIME magazine’s former editor-in-chief, asserts that journalism must speak immediately, “while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.” The Courier-Journal has met that standard in facing the plague of child abuse during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Each Sunday this month, the Courier-Journal has highlighted a [...]
“Is it good for kids?” That is the question we at Kentucky Youth Advocates always ask of our decision-makers, and we are applying that simple litmus test to the debates around new federal healthcare legislation. Health impacts every aspect of a child’s life and is one of the most important components of overall child well-being. For optimal health, children need access to health coverage that allows them to receive high quality care addressing their physical, behavioral, [...]
