Kentucky’s Application Open for Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership Program

The entire workforce is struggling to find the high-quality employees that it needs to stabilize business. In the past, employers could offer a competitive salary and a benefit package with health insurance and that would be enough to draw in the employees they needed.  However, that is no longer the case. Eighty-three percent of working families with children under the age of five are struggling to pay for child care. If the adults in the [...]

By |2023-06-02T14:55:06-04:00May 31st, 2023|Blog, Economic Security, Education|

New Efforts to Boost WIC Participation in Kentucky

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women’s, Infant, and Children (WIC) provides vital support for the food and nutrition security of pregnant women, new moms, babies, and young children by providing food assistance via an EBT card, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support. While this support is critical for new parents and young children, the WIC program is out of date and does not reach everyone who is eligible. Kinship caregivers and Kentucky’s Latinx population face [...]

By |2023-05-25T21:43:43-04:00May 25th, 2023|Blog, Economic Security, Health, Race Equity|

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 [...]

Showing Appreciation for Kentucky’s Child Care Providers

Friday, May 12th is National Provider Appreciation Day. This is a day dedicated to thanking our child care providers for all of their hard work to support young children and their families.  On any given day, child care providers are singing songs, reading books, playing dress-up, changing diapers, and kissing boo-boos. Along with providing children with a safe place to be while their parents are at work or school, providers are interacting with young children [...]

By |2023-05-10T12:19:44-04:00May 10th, 2023|Blog, Economic Security, Education|

Too Many Kentucky Young People Exit Foster Care Without Permanent Families and Unprepared to Thrive on Their Own

Too Many Kentucky Young People Exit Foster Care Without Permanent Families and Unprepared to Thrive on Their Own Fostering Youth Transitions 2023 Urges Improvements to Extended Foster Care Transition LOUISVILLE, KY – Permanent families and supportive adult connections, stable housing, and postsecondary education remain beyond the reach of too many young people with foster care experience, according to Fostering Youth Transitions 2023: State and National Data to Drive Foster Care Advocacy, a data brief released [...]

Action Needed to Eliminate Student Hunger

The USDA school nutrition programs, like the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, are crucial to ensuring that kids have access to consistent, nutritious meals throughout the school year. With over 1 in 6 Kentucky kids not having enough to eat and research finding that school meals are some of the healthiest meals students consume, these programs are vital for the health and nutrition of Kentucky kids.  Despite how vital these programs are, we [...]

By |2023-05-02T12:55:39-04:00May 2nd, 2023|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|

Bloom Kentucky: Recapping KYGA23 Efforts to Address ACEs

While the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly saw many confounding moments, we also saw continued positive momentum when it came to addressing childhood adversity. Kentucky’s policymakers, once again, found common ground when it came to the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Kentucky’s kids and families.  This year, Bloom Kentucky identified four policy areas to focus on throughout the 2023 legislative session which included 1) supporting the health and well-being of new moms and their [...]

By |2023-04-17T17:27:37-04:00April 17th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security, Health|

The Opioid Settlement and Impact for Kentucky Kids

“Hope blooms when the time is ready.” – Debasish Mridha After seeing waves of the opioid epidemic pass through Kentucky since the late 1990s, Kentucky is ready and well-equipped  to turn the tide. Due to actions taken by all three branches of Kentucky’s government, and major efforts by the Attorney General’s office specifically, we are set to see hundreds of millions of dollars come directly to Kentucky from the opioid settlement. With investments and persistence, [...]

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 [...]

Statement on Final Passage of HB 21

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – On the Kentucky Senate’s consent orders, House Bill 21 received final passage and will soon head to the Governor’s desk for signature. Youth and housing advocates are cheering as HB 21, sponsored by Representative Randy Bridges, updates Kentucky’s homeless ID law to allow unaccompanied youth to get an ID without parental permission. An ID is necessary to [...]

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