FacebookInstagramXYouTubeEmail

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|
Read More

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 Homeschooling, loosely defined as when a student has been withdrawn from public school and is educated through a private or home setting, has seen an unprecedented increase in Kentucky.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|
Read More

Who is Thriving Families, Safer Children Kentucky?

It’s been a HOT summer, so the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TSFC) Kentucky team hasn’t been staying cool (or even, always, calm given the gravity of this work). But they have remained collected around a shared purpose—infusing the national guiding principles throughout our statewide initiatives. This mid-year update will be a tribute to the partnership and the hard work they’re doing individually and as a collaborative effort supporting one another’s efforts to keep the movement [...]

By |2024-07-30T11:30:39-04:00July 30th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
Read More

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kinship Diversion Policies Survey by State: Key Takeaways

By  Kathleen Baldwin, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates The timing of the recent Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Family Ties series of reports on kinship care state policies is well aligned with the ongoing conversations around access to supports for kinship families in Kentucky. The latest report was released on July 15, 2024 and includes questions for consideration by local, state, and federal leaders in collaboration with kinship families.  In 2022, The Annie E. Casey Foundation [...]

By |2024-07-25T13:35:35-04:00July 24th, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
Read More

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|
Read More

OP-ED: We must coalesce around improving Kentucky’s student outcomes

This originally appeared as an op-ed in the Kentucky Lantern on July 5, 2024. By Terry Brooks The annual national KIDS COUNT Data Book includes more data into which to dive than column inches allow.  But an overview of the report reminds us that Kentucky is not the best place in America to be young.  Or the second-best place.  Or the 10th or the 20th or even 30th.  Instead, the 2024 report card on the [...]

By |2024-07-08T11:36:32-04:00July 3rd, 2024|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Kids Count, News Room, Race Equity|
Read More

KOHC: New Oral Health Educational Materials Available for Community

During June as National Oral Health Month, the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition has launched a new series of oral health resources. KOHC’s Oral Health Resource Hub now includes several flyers for oral health providers and community-based organizations to display and distribute in dental offices, schools, libraries, and other locations. “The flyers are very user friendly – the pictures, colorful text boxes, and plain language make challenging concepts more easily understood. It is so helpful to [...]

By |2024-06-27T14:11:29-04:00June 26th, 2024|Blog, Health, Race Equity|
Read More

KYGA24: Addressing the Impact of Evictions on Kids

Evictions have a major impact on the safety and stability of Kentucky kids, often forcing families to move away from systems of support and into housing insecurity. However, a new report from Louisville’s Center for Health Equity shows that the impact of evictions goes much deeper than stability, also impacting the health of children and families. Evictions are both common and impact families of color more than other groups. Over 16,000 evictions were filed just [...]

By |2024-06-12T10:14:20-04:00June 12th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security, Health, Race Equity|
Read More

Kentucky Ranks 38th in 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book Urging Focus on Equipping Kids to Learn

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 502-895-8167 X122 Chronic Absences, Drop in Test Scores: Kentucky Ranks 38th in 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book Urging Focus on Equipping Kids to Learn 50-State Data Show Academic Outcomes, Absence are Linked to Poverty, Trauma; Policymakers Must Act to Promote Kids' Future Success, Annie E. Casey Foundation Finds LOUISVILLE, KY — Kentucky ranks 38th in child well-being, according to the 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report developed by [...]

By |2024-06-10T09:13:11-04:00June 10th, 2024|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Health, News Room, Race Equity|
Read More

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|
Read More
Go to Top