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An Update on the Housing Crisis and Call to Action for Young People

In all 120 Kentucky counties, families are struggling to find affordable housing. In addition to being a frequently discussed topic in communities across the Commonwealth, the 2024 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda prioritized the development of an interim joint legislative task force to focus on the state’s housing crisis. We are pleased that the legislature established the Kentucky Housing Task Force to study and review the current and future policy needs to address [...]

By |2024-09-11T13:07:48-04:00September 11th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, 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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Sowing Seeds of Hope this Recovery Month

September is National Recovery Month, a time to acknowledge the challenges of substance use and celebrate the progress of those on their journey to recovery. For me, this month resonates deeply. Throughout my childhood and life, I’ve witnessed firsthand how substance use can profoundly affect a family. My family, like many others, knows this struggle all too well. For years, substance use has been heavily stigmatized. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, stigma is “a strong [...]

By |2024-09-09T16:24:25-04:00September 9th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|
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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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Tackling America’s Health Crisis: The Urgent Need for ACEs Prevention

Trust for America’s Health recently released their 2024 report, revealing a 142% increase in deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide from 2002 to 2022 in the United States. The report's findings are alarming, with 207,827 deaths in 2022 alone. While there was a small decline in alcohol-induced deaths, rates for drug overdoses and suicides remained steady, underscoring the ongoing crisis. Key Recommendation: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) One of the [...]

By |2024-08-21T14:43:25-04:00August 21st, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|
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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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Bloom KY Growing Hope: Spotlight on Hardin County’s Opioid Abatement Efforts

Shana Norton, Deputy Coroner of Hardin County, is passionate about her community and is committed to making a difference. In this edition of Bloom Kentucky’s Growing Hope series, we’re highlighting the incredible opioid abatement efforts in Hardin County (and the incredible people too!). Norton describes her role as “one piece of the larger puzzle” when talking about coming together to address the opioid epidemic in her community. Norton is part of an Overdose Fatality Review [...]

By |2024-08-08T10:23:31-04:00August 8th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Health|
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New Report – Fostering Connections: The Housing Landscape for Foster Care Alumni and Recommendations

LOUISVILLE, KY – Everyone needs a safe, stable place to call home. However, a short supply of housing has made this increasingly difficult for Kentucky’s young people. The Fostering Connections: The Housing Landscape for Foster Care Alumni and Recommendations report, released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, sheds light on the critical housing needs of young adults ages 18-28 in Louisville, Kentucky, particularly young adults who have spent time in foster care as children.  Foster care [...]

By |2024-08-08T09:16:27-04:00August 8th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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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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