Launching the Journey to Success Campaign in Kentucky

By Brittani Carlton, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates Thousands of young adults exit foster care, often without the preparation or support they need to succeed in adulthood. With limited resources and services, their paths can lead to homelessness, more trauma, and economic disadvantage. It is imperative to listen to the voices who have endured these experiences and traumas in order to provide advocacy that is relevant to the needs of the individuals in and aging [...]

Kentucky Ranks 37th in Child Well-Being with Too Many Children Suffering from Mental Health Pandemic

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 502-895-8167 X122   Kentucky Ranks 37th in Child Well-Being with Too Many Children Suffering from Mental Health Pandemic Latest data show 16% of Kentucky kids face anxiety or depression, as effects of the coronavirus crisis linger, Annie E. Casey Foundation finds LOUISVILLE— The latest available data show that as the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting Kentucky and the rest of the nation, the Commonwealth was showing progress in some areas of child [...]

A Look at the New Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the cost of prescription opioid misuse in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including health care, lost productivity, addiction treatment and criminal justice. In 2017, approximately 2.2 million children were directly affected by parental opioid use or their own use, and we know that Kentucky children have been particularly hard hit. There is a clear connection of adult and adolescent opioid use to childhood [...]

Implementation of 2022 Wins for Kids and Families

Many of you advocated for the 2022 Blueprint for Kentucky's Children policy and budget priorities through legislative meetings, social media posts, attended Children’s Advocacy Week, called or emailed your legislators, and so much more throughout the 2022 legislative session. Your critical efforts paid off with legislative wins for children and positive investments in the state budget. Many new state laws go into effect 90 days after the last day of legislative session unless the bill [...]

Keep Kids Fed Act

At the start of the pandemic, Congress acted quickly to ensure schools and nonprofits had the tools and flexibilities needed to keep kids fed. Waivers like the congregate feeding waiver have allowed schools in rural Kentucky to deliver meals directly to kids, while higher reimbursement rates have helped schools and child care centers weather staffing and supply chain challenges.  Last week, Congress once again acted quickly to ensure that these flexibilities and higher reimbursements were [...]

By |2022-06-30T16:58:48-04:00June 30th, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Health|

Reflections from the 2022 KY Commission on Race & Access to Opportunity

Read about the November 2021 meeting of the Commission on Race and Opportunity here.  Following the 2021 General Assembly, SB 10, co-sponsored by Senator Givens, Senator Whitney Westerfield, and Senate President Robert Stivers, became law and established the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity. The group is tasked with studying and researching issues where disparities may exist across various sectors to determine areas of improvement and to provide services and opportunities for communities of [...]

New Suicide Prevention Hotline Coming Soon

Mental health support and suicide prevention resources are a critical resource for Kentuckians. Children and their families across the Commonwealth struggled with their mental health well before the isolation and other challenges brought forth by the pandemic. Coming in July, a new three-digit number for suicide response and mental health crisis care – 988 – will be available across the Commonwealth, and nationwide.   July 2022 marks the shift of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [...]

By |2022-06-29T17:18:44-04:00June 27th, 2022|Blog, Health|

Recognizing Federal Protections for the LGBTQ+ Community

By Jordan Ojile, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates June is recognized nationally as Pride Month, a time to celebrate strides made and remaining work in LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing. There have been several unsuccessful drives in recent years to protect Kentucky’s vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth. Since 2017, Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky has been at the forefront of education, advocacy, and lobbying efforts across the Commonwealth. During the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly, the Youth Mental Health Protection [...]

By |2022-06-23T12:40:58-04:00June 23rd, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|

Infant Formula Shortage – Updates and Resources

Babies have special nutritional needs, and many parents across Kentucky rely on baby formula to meet these needs. The baby formula shortage has caused significant stress for Kentucky’s newest parent, especially parents whose babies rely on specialty formulas.  To address this crisis, state and federal lawmakers have taken several steps to help increase the supply of formula:  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun to import baby formula from other countries into the [...]

By |2022-06-16T12:15:42-04:00June 16th, 2022|Blog, Health|

Filling the Summer Meal Gap for Families

Summer should be a stress free time where kids get to relax. However, for nearly 1 in 5 kids across the Commonwealth summer is often the hungriest time of the year. The loss of free school meals and rising grocery costs means that families spend more on groceries in the summer, stretching already tight budgets and leaving kids at risk of missing meals.  To help fill this summer meal gap, there are several programs available to [...]

By |2022-06-09T13:44:01-04:00June 9th, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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