Kids cannot vote, but you can ensure that their voices are heard by engaging with candidates in local, state, and federal elections. The leaders we elect determine policy that will impact our daily lives for what may be generations to come. But how often do we pause to consider–specifically–how our choices at the ballot box will impact us, and particularly young children who depend on us to make the right choices? We must keep [...]
We are still reminiscing on the Sowing Resilience: A Bloom Kentucky Listening Tour that wrapped up earlier this summer. One session in particular that we can’t stop thinking about is the Youth and Young Adult Session hosted in Jefferson County. In June, a group of nearly 40 young people from across Jefferson County came together to share their thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on helping Kentucky kids grow up healthy and hopeful. Discussions ranged from [...]
Over the course of just 6 weeks, Kentucky Youth Advocates and Bloom Kentucky covered over 2,000 miles around the state hosting 19 regional listening sessions. We heard from over 350 Kentuckians including parents, teachers, community leaders, service providers, elected officials, youth, and more. Hosting these convenings and hearing from communities all over the state would not have been possible without our partner organizations who acted as co-hosts for each event. Throughout the tour we asked [...]
Journey to Success is a policy advocacy campaign that seeks to improve opportunities and outcomes for all youth and young adults who experience foster care by promoting their healing, family connections, and economic security. Kentucky Youth Advocates has developed a team of foster care alumni that represent the Journey to Success campaign in our state. In 2021-2022, the Journey to Success Kentucky team met with staffers of Kentucky’s Federal Delegates to advocate for policy [...]
Updated August 7, 2023 Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) has been one of the most vital supports for children and families throughout the last couple of years, providing grocery money to families who would have usually received free and reduced school meals. We are excited to share that Kentucky has started distributing P-EBT benefits for certain populations. We do not know how every type of Pandemic EBT will be distributed yet, but we will be updating [...]
With a new school year fast-approaching, families and educators are preparing for another first day of class but something outside of education continues to be on their mind – youth vaping. Kids and teens using tobacco products was once thought to be a thing of the past, but the rise of e-cigarettes or vapes has introduced a new generation of young tobacco users dependent on nicotine. Youth vaping – whether a young person uses these [...]
By Carlie Reeves, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates Homelessness, while experienced by many, disproportionately affects those with a foster care experience. It has been found that in Kentucky, 1 in 3 young adults who have foster care experience will face homelessness/housing instability at some point. So, out of the 1,132 youth aged 16-20 that were in foster care in 2021, 444 of them will eventually face housing instability. Foster care’s purpose is to reunify families or establish [...]
Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 502-895-8167 X122 Kentucky Ranks 40th in Child Well-Being While Inaccessible, Unaffordable Child Care Deeply Impacts Families and Economy Data Show Child Care Challenges Caused Over 1 in 9 Kentucky Parents to Miss, Quit, or Scale Back Work, the Annie E. Casey Foundation Finds LOUISVILLE, KY — Kentucky ranks 40th in child well-being, according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
