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Planting Seeds for Youth Substance Use Prevention

One of my favorite quotes is: "Legacy. What is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you may never get to see." This particular iteration is from Hamilton, but you’ve likely encountered a variation of this quote either biblically or from someone in your life. This idea perfectly encapsulates the bold and forward-thinking action taken by Attorney General Russell Coleman in the recent meeting with the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. During the meeting, [...]

By |2024-09-11T13:58:12-04:00September 11th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|
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Together We Bloom Summit: Cultivating Kentucky’s Future

MARK YOUR CALENDARS on May 7, 2025, as community leaders, policymakers, and advocates will gather at the Shelbyville Conference and Welcome Center in Shelbyville for the Together We Bloom Summit, hosted by Bloom Kentucky. This one-day event will focus on cultivating positive childhood experiences through both policy and systems change across the Commonwealth, offering a unique platform to explore new strategies for fostering resilience and mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Kentucky’s children. The [...]

By |2024-09-11T10:01:07-04:00September 10th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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Child Care Access – Gathering Input from Centers and Families

We are in the final countdown! The final federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan will run out on September 30th, and the child care industry will be expected to stand on its own two feet.   Unfortunately, child care was barely surviving prior to the pandemic, and with the inflation that has occurred in the past four years, the industry is not set-up to be successful. The biggest challenge to overcome is the cost [...]

By |2024-10-24T09:10:38-04:00September 10th, 2024|Blog, Economic Security, Education|
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Making Kids Count in the 2024 Election

Kids cannot vote, but you can ensure that their voices are heard by engaging with candidates in local, state, and federal elections and being an informed voter.  The leaders we elect determine policies and budgets 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 children who depend on us to make [...]

By |2024-10-14T10:47:51-04:00September 4th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Kentucky Homeschool Strengths, Concerns, and Opportunities

By Casey Lane, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates As homeschooling in Kentucky appears to be on the rise, let’s further explore some of the components of homeschooling, including strengths, concerns, and opportunities to improve homeschool practices in Kentucky.  Flexibility and Family Preference Before and since the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have praised homeschooling’s flexibility, allowing families to travel and have a schedule that accommodates appointments, field trips, and other needs and preferences of the family. Homeschooling [...]

By |2024-08-29T16:24:51-04:00August 29th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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Save the Date: Children’s Advocacy Week 2025

For more than 20 years, advocates for kids have gathered in Frankfort for Children’s Advocacy Day to fill the halls of the Capitol and ask their elected officials to step up for Kentucky kids. The critical mass of advocates in the Capitol building led to many policy wins and raising awareness of issues facing kids and their families.   During Children’s Advocacy Week, we host a series of virtual events with more opportunities to [...]

By |2024-08-26T09:32:38-04:00August 20th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Health Youth Ambassadors 2024 Onboarding Retreat

Kentucky Youth Advocates is proud to announce our 2024-2025 Health Youth Ambassadors! These high school students from around the Commonwealth are eager to make positive changes in their communities and throughout the state. This year’s cohort of high school students includes two Freshman, four Sophomores, six Juniors, and three Seniors with representation from Boyle, Edmonson, Graves, Jefferson, Johnson, Madison, Shelby, Taylor, and Warren Counties. The Health Youth Ambassadors (HYA) program is a statewide cohort [...]

By |2024-08-14T15:09:53-04:00August 14th, 2024|Blog, Education, Health, Kids Count|
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Kentucky Homeschool Trends and Reflection

By Casey Lane, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates What is homeschooling? Homeschooling, loosely defined as when a student has been withdrawn from public school and is educated through a private or home setting, has seen an unprecedented increase in Kentucky. Roughly 38,222 Kentucky children were homeschooled during the 2022-2023 school year, a 56% increase from 2017-2018. In some districts spanning from rural Pulaski County to metro Fayette County, homeschooling grew as much as 75%.  Kentucky's [...]

By |2024-07-31T15:41:56-04:00July 31st, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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Bloom KY Growing Hope: Spotlight on Scott County’s Opioid Abatement Efforts

In this edition of Bloom Kentucky’s Growing Hope series, we’re highlighting the incredible opioid abatement efforts in Scott County. Recently named a “Recovery Ready Community,” Scott County has shown a commitment to providing resources for treatment, recovery support, and workforce reintegration for residents struggling with substance use disorder. Scott County has used their local opioid dollars to support some key initiatives. Those initiatives include:  Community Paramedicine Program: This initiative aims to partner with local agencies [...]

By |2024-07-18T09:06:35-04:00July 17th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Education, Health|
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The State of Child Labor in Kentucky

Entering the labor force young has its benefits. Having a job as a teen (ages 16-18) can predict higher quality jobs and higher wages in adulthood. Quality work experience at a young age can improve physical and mental health in the long term, as well as reduce the likelihood that a youth will interact with the criminal justice system.  However, youth only benefit from employment when they are working in safe, age-appropriate environments. In Kentucky [...]

By |2024-07-11T13:42:11-04:00July 11th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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