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REFORM Louisville: Youth Perspective on Mental Health and the Courts

It can be easy for life to get you down when obstacles constantly stand between you and your future. When you make mistakes as a child, it can hinder your ability to maintain stable housing, employment, and educational opportunities. It can be discouraging and difficult finding your voice when you’ve been told for so long that you don't have one.  Helping youth and young adults find their voice is one thing a group called REFORM [...]

By |2023-07-05T16:09:07-04:00July 5th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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A Look at Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System and Need for Equity in Diversion Programs

The following reflects Kentucky Youth Advocates’ presentation to the Commission on Race & Access to Opportunity and Juvenile Justice Oversight Council on June 20, 2023 – watch the testimony and view the presentation.  Over the last several years, the Kentucky General Assembly, Administrative Office of the Courts and their Court Designated Workers program, and critical stakeholders have made tremendous progress in reforming the juvenile justice system and the way we respond to kids who get [...]

By |2023-06-28T14:46:39-04:00June 28th, 2023|Blog, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, and Fuel Stops

Greetings, from the road! The Sowing Resilience: A Bloom Kentucky Listening Tour is about halfway complete. We are making 19 stops in total across every region in Kentucky. We have powerful partners in every region that have been integral to the success of this Listening Tour series.  Much like the motto used by the fabled Dillon Panthers in the hit TV show Friday Night Lights, our Kentucky Youth Advocates team members are focused and operating [...]

By |2023-06-16T15:18:59-04:00June 13th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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REFORM Louisville: Finding Power in My Voice

By Leondrea Johnson About a year ago, one of the staff people at YouthBuild Louisville told us he had an opportunity for a couple of us to participate in. When we met the first time with Kentucky Youth Advocates, the work they talked about pulled me in. They asked us about what changes we wanted to see in our community and talked about things that some of us had experienced - like school suspensions [...]

By |2023-06-27T14:01:05-04:00June 9th, 2023|Blog, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Sowing Resilience with Bloom Kentucky

What does Bloom Kentucky and Mickey Mouse have in common this summer? They are both ALL EARS. As soon as the gavel fell for the 2023 state legislative session, Bloom Kentucky already had a plan to get advocates excited about 2024. Kentucky Youth Advocates and Bloom Kentucky want to hear from you!   During May and June 2023, we’re hosting regionally-based listening sessions across the Commonwealth to bring local advocates and leaders together to identify strategies [...]

By |2023-06-29T14:05:05-04:00May 10th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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KYGA23: Impacts for Kids and Families

The actions of the General Assembly during the 2023 legislative session confounded us at times. While we certainly don’t agree with any legislator 100% of the time, there are still ways we can find common ground and at the very least agree on a process. In the juvenile justice realm – we’ll go into bill details below – members of the House and Senate demonstrated thoughtful and careful consideration. The much debated House Bill 3 [...]

By |2023-04-26T15:38:36-04:00April 5th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Social Workers Breaking Barriers for Kids

March is National Social Work Month! The theme for 2023 is Social Work Breaks Barriers. Did you know there are over 750,000 social workers in the nation?  Social workers have a responsibility to serve others through lenses of compassion, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Social workers implement their core values of service, social justice, the importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of the person, integrity, and competence into their job duties every day.  With so [...]

By |2023-03-29T17:16:48-04:00March 29th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Final Passage of Bills Impacting Juvenile Justice

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – There has seldom been such a transformative process around a major policy arena than what we have seen around juvenile justice in the 2023 General Assembly. We have been critical as recently as a year ago about both the process and substance of juvenile justice legislation.  Therefore, it is especially important that we commend the process and [...]

By |2023-03-17T14:14:18-04:00March 16th, 2023|Blog, News Room, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Passage of HB 3 by the Senate A&R Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – As the General Assembly wrestles with the complex issue of juvenile justice, Senator Danny Carroll continues to lead. His additions to House Bill 3 with the Senate Committee Substitute underscore the potential to improve public safety, hold youth accountable for mistakes, and focus on getting those young people back on the right track. Those additions include: Delaying [...]

By |2023-03-13T16:23:30-04:00March 13th, 2023|News Room, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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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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