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New Report – Fostering Connections: Actions Needed to Prevent Homelessness Among Foster Care Alumni

New Report – Fostering Connections: Actions Needed to Prevent Homelessness Among Foster Care Alumni Featuring Findings from Interviews and Surveys with Young Adults with Lived Experience and Recommendations LOUISVILLE, KY – Whether they exit care through adoption, family reunification, or aging out, foster care alumni are at higher risk of experiencing homelessness as a young adult. According to recent data, approximately one in three young adults who leave foster care in Kentucky will experience housing [...]

By |2023-09-21T08:42:57-04:00September 21st, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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Regions Taking Action for Thriving Families, Safer Children Kentucky

All Kentuckians are mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect. But this responsibility may have subliminally conditioned us to have our eyes open when around parents and stay on constant alert for the worst. We as a society may have become too preoccupied waiting for the anticipated other shoe to drop that we forgot to look at ourselves and see what role we play in the health promotion of families around us. While it’s important [...]

By |2023-09-08T11:56:57-04:00September 7th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
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Guest Blog: Kinship Families Are Waiting For A Champion

This originally appeared as an op-ed in the Herald Leader on August 31, 2023. By Norma Hatfield I recently spoke to a legislative committee about Kinship Care. As I sat at the table during the hearing, my heart was hurting for so many kinship families in Kentucky who are in serious need and seem to be forgotten. There are many kids in Kinship Care who’ve been abused, neglected and removed from their homes and placed [...]

By |2023-08-31T19:01:27-04:00August 31st, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security|
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SNAP Update to Support Youth Aged-Out of Foster Care

Young adults often need a lot of extra support as they transition into adulthood, with many young adults relying on their family or another trusted adult for that support.   However, approximately 650 youth across Kentucky age out of the foster care system every year without permanent family connections. Youth who have aged out of foster care often struggle to meet their basic needs, such as food and housing, with 21% of former Kentucky foster youth [...]

By |2023-08-31T16:49:02-04:00August 31st, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health|
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Guest Blog: “What can I do to be a helper in my community?”

By Joseph Bargione  For some of us, the name Fred McFeely Rogers may have no meaning.  However, if you grew up before cell phones or social media, and you heard a certain theme song you might smile or sing along.   Fred Rogers created the iconic children’s tv show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which aired from 1968 to 2001 on 384 Public Broadcast Stations (PBS). At the height of its popularity, it was being viewed in 1.8 [...]

By |2023-08-22T08:31:29-04:00August 22nd, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health|
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Making Kids Count in the 2023 Election

Kids cannot vote, but you can ensure that their voices are heard by engaging with candidates in local, state, and federal elections. The leaders we elect determine policy 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 young children who depend on us to make the right choices? We must keep [...]

By |2023-10-20T13:43:23-04:00August 16th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Youth Join Together to Sow Resilience for Kentucky Kids and Families

We are still reminiscing on the Sowing Resilience: A Bloom Kentucky Listening Tour that wrapped up earlier this summer. One session in particular that we can’t stop thinking about is the Youth and Young Adult Session hosted in Jefferson County. In June, a group of nearly 40 young people from across Jefferson County came together to share their thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on helping Kentucky kids grow up healthy and hopeful. Discussions ranged from [...]

By |2023-08-07T16:43:27-04:00August 7th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Reflections from Sowing Resilience: A Bloom Kentucky Listening Tour

Over the course of just 6 weeks, Kentucky Youth Advocates and Bloom Kentucky covered over 2,000 miles around the state hosting 19 regional listening sessions. We heard from over 350 Kentuckians including parents, teachers, community leaders, service providers, elected officials, youth, and more. Hosting these convenings and hearing from communities all over the state would not have been possible without our partner organizations who acted as co-hosts for each event.  Throughout the tour we asked [...]

By |2023-08-08T14:55:04-04:00August 7th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Re-establishment of Statewide Kentucky Caregiver Program

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Thousands of Kentucky grandparents have stepped up and continue to show up for their grandchildren in need of a safe home every day. Today, Governor Beshear’s announcement regarding the statewide expansion of the Kentucky Caregiver Program is one way the commonwealth can step up for these grandparent heroes. After budget cuts limited the reach of this program, [...]

By |2023-08-02T15:21:56-04:00August 2nd, 2023|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, News Room|
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Journey to Success KY: Community Conversations Coming to a Town Near You!

Journey to Success is a policy advocacy campaign that seeks to improve opportunities and outcomes for all youth and young adults who experience foster care by promoting their healing, family connections, and economic security. Kentucky Youth Advocates has developed a team of foster care alumni that represent the Journey to Success campaign in our state. In 2021-2022, the Journey to Success Kentucky team met with staffers of Kentucky’s Federal Delegates to advocate for policy [...]

By |2023-08-01T13:35:35-04:00August 1st, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity|
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