November is National Adoption Month. The best way to understand the impact of adoption is to hear the stories of the people who have lived it. The stories below are from the perspectives of an adoptive parent and her daughter. Pat's Story Hi, my name is Ms. Pat. I have been asked to write a little something on foster care and adoption I am not a writer, but here it goes. I have been a foster [...]

By Carli Mosby, Kentucky Youth Advocates intern November is National Adoption Month, an initiative led by the Children’s Bureau that seeks to raise awareness of the hundreds of thousands of foster children throughout the country, and the 1,774 children in Kentucky in need of permanent, loving families.  This year, the initiative focuses its awareness efforts on “Teens Need Families, No Matter What,” which emphasizes the thousands of teens in foster care that are at risk [...]

November is National Adoption month, which makes the Program Review and Investigations Committee report on Kentucky’s foster care and adoption system very timely. In May 2016, the Program Review and Investigations Committee voted to initiate a study of Kentucky’s foster care system. The Committee’s Legislative Research Commission (LRC) staff looked at relevant statutes and regulations, evaluated agency procedures and practices, and made recommendations for improvement. What the Committee found was informative and important as the [...]

By Carli Mosby, Kentucky Youth Advocates intern Even with the special session to address pension reform expected soon, legislators are looking ahead to the legislative session that will include the crafting and passing of a two-year state budget. As many Kentucky families know firsthand, budgets can be tough. Ensuring that money coming in will cover the necessary costs of life can, at times, be difficult and stressful. Kinship caregivers who have willingly stepped up to [...]