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Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2025 State Policy Priorities Agenda

Media Contact:  Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Louisville, KY – Today, Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners from across the Commonwealth released the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2025 priority agenda. The Blueprint speaks with a common voice to create brighter futures for all Kentucky kids and their families. The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a coalition of non-profit, public, and private organizations that stands on three pillars: thriving communities launch strong families, strong families launch successful kids, and successful kids launch a prosperous future [...]

By |2024-12-10T12:54:44-05:00December 11th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Medicaid, News Room, Youth Justice|
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Parental Incarceration & the Impact on Kids: “I want the cycle to end with me.”

Updated April 9, 2026 In 2025, the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children and Bloom Kentucky's 2025 legislative priorities included the Family Preservation and Accountability Act. The proposed legislation would require courts to consider alternative sentences for parents of dependent children who committed low-level and nonviolent offenses. With the hard work of advocates and legislative champions, Senator Julie Raque Adams and Representative Nick Wilson, Senate Bill 122 successfully passed both chambers in 2026 and is expected to be signed into law by [...]

By |2026-04-09T10:25:43-04:00October 9th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice|
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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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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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Building Relationships to Build Up Supports for Families

Parental incarceration can feel like such a heavy topic, knowing the impact it can have on a child, the struggles for parents at home to manage alone, and the stigma that often comes with having a loved one incarcerated. However, the recent convening in Frankfort – Keeping Families Connected: Jail Visits and Communication Action Planning – was a space of hope and connection around a shared vision for doing better in our state. On May [...]

By |2024-06-06T10:50:12-04:00June 6th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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How Community Members Can Step up for Children Experiencing a “Shared Sentence”

When a parent is incarcerated, children often feel the impact on their lives in many ways. Families might lose income and have a harder time making ends meet. Children will not see their parent as often, or be able to connect with them in the same ways.   On a recent webinar, “Community Strategies to Support Children with Incarcerated Parents,” participants heard from a panel of people who personally experienced the separation caused by incarceration, [...]

By |2024-04-11T15:50:09-04:00April 11th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, Race Equity|
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Celebrating and Empowering Social Workers

By Leah Wade, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates  March is National Social Work Month, and this year the theme is Empowering Social Workers. The theme of this month highlights the need for higher compensation and support for the high-demand roles that social workers engage in. This month is used as a way to celebrate the contributions that social workers are making to individuals, families, and communities. It is a time to support the ongoing work [...]

By |2024-03-28T14:16:04-04:00March 28th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Kentuckians: We Need Your Input on Tools Needed to Address Opioid Use in Your Community

By Andrew Alvey, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates As Bloom Kentucky has detailed, the opioid crisis has significantly impacted all of Kentucky’s communities. In 2020, Kentucky had the third-highest age-adjusted drug overdose fatality rate in the United States. This statistic shows the urgency with which we must come together to create opportunities for healing and resilience. With support from the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, Kentucky Youth Advocates is leading a project to collect [...]

By |2024-03-21T12:37:39-04:00March 20th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity|
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Blooming in your Backyard: Harnessing Opioid Settlement Funds for Local Impact

Updated April 29, 2024 Grab your toolbox (reference from prior blog) because we are READY to add more tools! Bloom Kentucky hosted a webinar on Wednesday, April 24th – Blooming in your Backyard: Harnessing Opioid Settlement Funds for Local Impact! Co-hosted with the Kentucky Association of County Counties’ (KACo) Lauren Carr, Opioid Settlement Advisor, this webinar put a spotlight on the power of local action in the battle against the opioid crisis. Gain insight [...]

By |2024-04-29T15:51:29-04:00March 20th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice|
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Empowering Communities: Leveraging Opioid Settlement Funds for Impact

*Updated March 13, 2024 What does Bloom Kentucky and a toolbox have in common? Both share a fundamental purpose of empowerment and repair, providing essential tools and strategies to build resilience and mend the fabric of affected lives and communities.  Here at Bloom Kentucky, we want to equip you and your community with the tools to leverage the historic opioid settlement funds for impact. On Wednesday, March 6th, Bloom Kentucky hosted a webinar with [...]

By |2024-03-15T12:38:29-04:00February 19th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice|
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