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Using Local Opioid Abatement Funds to Fuel Prevention Efforts

Local opioid settlement funds, which are available and distributed to every county and many cities around Kentucky, hold great opportunity for healing and recovery. Alongside the possibilities for local communities comes great responsibility to use the funds wisely. This is especially important as these funds come as a result of the opioid epidemic which took the lives of many Kentuckians and harmed many more.  As county leaders make decisions about how to invest, all localities [...]

By |2026-02-17T11:59:17-05:00February 17th, 2026|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security|
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Diving Deeper into HB 6 to Strengthen Kentucky’s Child Care Ecosystem

Affordable, quality child care continues to be a top priority for families that need to be a part of the workforce while still providing a safe and healthy environment for their young children. During the 2024 legislative session, the General Assembly dedicated more general fund dollars to child care than ever before. That was a first step towards developing Kentucky’s child care infrastructure. Now, during this budget session, Kentucky continues to brainstorm on how to [...]

By |2026-02-24T13:57:30-05:00February 12th, 2026|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education|
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Statement on Passage of HB 6 by House Families & Children Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Child care programs offer working families a safe place for children to learn and grow and serve as a critical pillar of community economies. Recognizing the need to strengthen quality and access to affordable child care across Kentucky, Representative Samara Heavrin – along with numerous bipartisan co-sponsors – is championing House Bill 6 this session, and we’re [...]

By |2026-02-12T09:30:30-05:00February 12th, 2026|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, News Room|
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Kentucky Continues to See Double National Rate of Child Maltreatment in Latest Report

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – The latest national Child Maltreatment report, released last month by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, shows a total of 14,505 child victims of maltreatment in Kentucky during the reporting period (FFY 2024). While there has been a 13% reduction in child victims of maltreatment from 2020 to 2024, Kentucky continues to see nearly double the national rate (7.2 per 1,000) of [...]

By |2026-02-09T15:35:04-05:00February 10th, 2026|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|
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What’s Coming Next with the State Budget and How to Take Action

Updated March 20, 2026 With just ten working days to go in the 2026 legislative session, the state budget process is nearing its conclusion. As we detailed in early January, the General Assembly spent a bulk of the legislative time in 2026 crafting a two-year state budget that will be complete before the final gavel on April 15th.  What’s Already Happened? So far, the Governor released his proposed budget during the State of the Commonwealth [...]

By |2026-03-20T15:35:31-04:00February 3rd, 2026|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health|
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Making the Case for a Refundable State Child Tax Credit

Raising children is expensive and the rising cost of diapers, food, housing, and childcare, are making it increasingly difficult for many Kentucky families to make ends meet.  Access to basic necessities is critical for healthy child development, yet financial stress can strain families’ ability to provide the safe, stable, and supportive environment young children need to grow and thrive.  One proven tool to help working families stay afloat is the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC).  [...]

By |2026-02-03T09:05:45-05:00February 2nd, 2026|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security|
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Understanding and Recognizing Grooming Behaviors

This blog was originally published on Face It Movement. Everyone can play a role in keeping kids safe, but that only happens when people know the signs to look out for. Some warning signs of child abuse, like grooming behaviors, can be difficult to spot because they appear as normal adult-child relationships especially when the abuser is a family member or a close family friend.  Grooming is defined as a pattern of complex and deceptive [...]

By |2026-02-05T13:50:34-05:00January 22nd, 2026|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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New year, new goals: Setting a path to achieve community goals to address the opioid epidemic

Each new year, people across Kentucky join in the time-honored tradition of reflecting on the year past and thinking ahead to goals for the upcoming year. With many years of goals to think back on, one takeaway is clear – I’m more likely to achieve that goal if I have a plan in place for how to do it.  In the past, when I set a goal to run the Kentucky Derby half marathon at [...]

By |2026-01-15T09:38:25-05:00January 15th, 2026|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health|
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Building Kentucky’s Budget: Implications of Federal Actions and State Taskforces

The 2026 state legislative session is underway and lawmakers have been busy in Frankfort filing more than 350 bills in the first week. Among the bills that remain to be seen is the budget bill that will detail legislative proposals for the state’s next two year operating budget. Originating in the House, this bill will see several rounds of revisions over the next two months before final passage by April 15th.  Governor Beshear kicked off [...]

By |2026-01-14T16:01:59-05:00January 14th, 2026|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Health, Medicaid|
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Bloom Kentucky Sprout-Out: Ohio County United for Youth

As part of Bloom Kentucky, “sprout outs” are our way of giving a meaningful shout out to programs fostering hope and resilience in our communities. We’re proud to spotlight the incredible work of Ohio County United for Youth. Ohio County United for Youth is an organization led by young people in partnership with adult volunteers in Ohio County, Kentucky. Their work is guided by the Developmental Assets Framework, which “identifies 40 research-based positive experiences that [...]

By |2026-01-13T12:30:14-05:00January 13th, 2026|Blog, Bloom Advocacy Corner, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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