FacebookInstagramXYouTubeEmail

Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks on HB 158 Passing House Health and Family Services Committee

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates We see a growing trend of good coming from Washington, D.C. and from Frankfort when it comes to improving outcomes of kids impacted by the child welfare system. House Bill 158, championed by Representative David Meade, is Kentucky’s first step to ensuring state law is aligned with the comprehensive federal legislation, the Family First Prevention Services Act. Family [...]

By |2019-02-14T12:19:09-05:00February 14th, 2019|Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|
Read More

Governor Bevin and Other Elected Leaders Join Youth and Advocates for Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol

Contact: Mara Powell 502-895-8167 *122 mpowell@kyyouth.org Governor Bevin and Other Elected Leaders Join Nearly 800 Youth and Advocates for 15th Annual Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol Hundreds of Kentuckians from across the Commonwealth, including over 250 children and youth, are convening in Frankfort today for the 15th annual Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. They are urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a unified agenda for child advocates across the state. “Today, [...]

By |2019-02-13T13:13:59-05:00February 13th, 2019|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, News Room, Youth Justice|
Read More

Celebrating Positive Trends in How Kentucky Responds to Youth Who Get in Trouble

Over the past ten years, Kentucky has made significant strides in how we respond to youth who commit status offenses. In 2008, behaviors like running away, skipping school, and acting out were routinely criminalized, with 1,951 youth being detained for status offenses, likely making the behaviors worse instead of addressing the root cause.  As Secretary John Tilley of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet said in 2014, it’s “very negative and damaging for these children [...]

By |2019-02-04T15:19:33-05:00February 4th, 2019|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Youth Justice|
Read More

The Countdown is On: Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol is February 13th!

With Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol only days away, be sure you’re registered to join hundreds of advocates and youth from across Kentucky in Frankfort on February 13th. Kentucky kids need advocates like you to speak up on their behalf on Children's Advocacy Day and throughout the 2019 Kentucky legislative session. As you prepare for Children's Advocacy Day, check these to-do items off the list: Watch the prep webinar to learn how to be confident in attending Children's Advocacy Day and advocating on [...]

By |2019-02-05T14:29:47-05:00January 31st, 2019|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Youth Justice|
Read More

In 2019, Let’s Work Together for Kentucky Kids

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal.  Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) recently released its 2018 KIDS COUNT County Data Book. This is, in many ways, the report card for Kentucky’s kids on a state-wide, regional, and county-level basis. Lots of data. Lots of good news. Lots of challenges. Though we’ve seen improved rates in 93 out of 120 counties, nearly one in four Kentucky kids still live in poverty. We have [...]

By |2018-12-20T15:39:23-05:00December 20th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
Read More

Five Ways to Help Ensure Every Kid is Safe and Has a Family

As Kentucky has seen an increase in the number of children in foster care, many agencies, organizations, and individuals are working in innovative and collaborative ways to respond to the needs of children who’ve experienced abuse or neglect. Below are a few examples of work that is underway in Frankfort and around the state. We’re also sharing five ways you can get involved in the new year to help ensure every kid is safe and [...]

By |2019-09-05T12:56:27-04:00December 20th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
Read More

Fostering Youth Transitions

In November, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Fostering Youth Transitions, an issue brief detailing data on the experiences of transition age youth, or youth in foster care who are close to or in the process of transitioning out of the child welfare system. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a pivotal developmental stage as young people learn the skills needed to be healthy and productive adults, and that transition can be complicated for [...]

By |2019-09-05T12:57:57-04:00December 6th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Kids Count|
Read More

Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2019 Priorities!

The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children stands on three cornerstones: Thriving communities launch strong families. Strong families launch successful kids. Successful kids launch a prosperous future for Kentucky. We’re launching the 2019 Blueprint policy priorities with partners from across the commonwealth with those three cornerstones in mind. We invite you to learn more about the Blueprint priorities and how to get involved. Check out the 2019 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priorities. Read the fact sheets for the [...]

By |2018-12-05T09:37:11-05:00December 5th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Youth Justice|
Read More

Five days, Five KIDS COUNT Community Conversations, Countless Lessons

To mark the release of our Kentucky KIDS COUNT 2018 County Data Book, we spent last week on the road, visiting five communities across the Commonwealth, including Louisville, Paducah, Glasgow, Manchester and Covington.  Our goals were two-fold. First, we wanted to introduce community leaders to the 100+ local data points available through the Kentucky KIDS COUNT Project that can give them a picture of how kids are faring in their counties. Secondly, we wanted [...]

By |2018-12-04T18:59:05-05:00December 4th, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Health, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
Read More

Common Ground and Common Good for Kentucky Kids

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Herald Leader. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO via the Lexington Herald Leader Kentucky Youth Advocates recently released its 2018 KIDS COUNT County Data Book. This is, in many ways, the report card for Kentucky’s kids on a statewide, regional and county level. It will surprise no one that the report is filled with both good news and challenges. We have made some headway in reducing the percentage of [...]

By |2019-01-21T14:57:38-05:00November 23rd, 2018|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
Read More
Go to Top