Bloom Kentucky is celebrating five years of working to cultivate a Commonwealth where all families can flourish. 

Uniquely powered by grantmaking partners across the state, Bloom Kentucky is united by a shared commitment to end Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and promote resilience through systemic change. By focusing on forward-thinking policy solutions and strategic investments, Bloom works to address the root causes of adversity and build a brighter future for all Kentuckians.

“Bloom Kentucky is a first-of-its-kind collaborative effort supported by several grantmaking organizations from across the Commonwealth who are all invested in ending Adverse Childhood Experiences. As grantmakers, we care deeply about the health, well-being, and future prosperity of all Kentuckians. This initiative will directly result in positive change that strengthens families and communities so every child can thrive,” said Barry Allen, Retired President & Treasurer of The Gheens Foundation, Inc.

Reflecting on Major Milestones of Collective Work 

State policy change and budget investments can address the multi-generational challenges on a broad scale and move upstream to prevent ACEs from occurring in the first place. Through collaboration and public engagement, education and community awareness, tracking and disseminating data, and policy advocacy, Bloom Kentucky has played a critical role in mobilizing advocates, advancing important wins, and shepherding critical movement on key policies.

Throughout this journey, there have been key milestones that have reminded us of what is possible for kids when parents, lawmakers, community members, and youth come together.

“A thriving, prosperous Kentucky economy depends on a healthy Kentucky population. Yet, we know that exposure to adversity in childhood is linked to an increased risk for smoking, asthma, and depression – all with implications to shape lifelong health and mental health trajectories. But those outcomes are not fate,” said Allison Adams, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

Securing Legislative Wins 

Over the past five state legislative sessions, Bloom Kentucky has successfully advanced policies to address ACEs, including helping secure 10 wins for Kentucky’s kids including:

• Senate Bill 122 (2026) holds parents accountable in ways that minimize the impact of incarceration on children.
• House Bill 90 (2025) provided pathways to establish and license freestanding birth centers, offering a safe and equitable alternative to hospital settings for prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.
• House Bill 377 (2024) strengthened the student-to-teacher pipeline by creating the Teacher Recruitment Student Loan Forgiveness Pilot Program and establishing Student-Teacher stipends in eligible programs.
• Senate Bill 2 (2024) increased requirements for schools around their trauma-informed teams and improvement plans. 
• Senate Bill 135 (2023) required the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to make publicly available information and an assessment tool on postpartum depression and other related perinatal mental health disorders.
• Updated the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Programs (K-TAP) regulations (2023) to benefit families in poverty and kinship families by doubling the benefit amount, increasing program eligibility levels, making it easier for two parent families to access, and mitigating the benefits cliff. date
• House Bill 1 (2022) established the biennial state budget including funds for the implementation of the reimagined suicide preventine hotline (988) and a $2 per day child care provider reimbursement rate increase.
• House Bill 499 (2022) established the infrastructure for the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership program to improve access to child care.
• Senate Bill 102 (2022) required schools to provide a yearly census of the school-based mental health providers to help ensure students can access needed services.
• House Bill 44 (2022) provided local school districts the option to include provisions for a student’s mental or behavioral health status within the attendance policy.

Bloom Kentucky Testifies in Frankfort on Behalf of Kids

On September 25, 2024, Bloom Kentucky presented to the IJC on Families and Children. Dr. Shannon Moody with Kentucky Youth Advocates, Dr. Darlene Davis Goodwine with Aidan Behavioral Health & Consulting/Parent Zone, and Barry Allen, former President of the Gheens Foundation, provided various perspectives on Adverse Childhood Experiences, what they look like in practice, and how grantmakers can be part of systems change.

Mobilizing Advocates through the Together We Bloom Summit

The inaugural Bloom Kentucky Summit took place on May 7, 2025 in Shelbyville. This sold-out event featured Keynote Speakers including Dr. Wendy Ellis, researcher who coined the term, “The Pair of ACEs”; Dr. Robert Sege, researcher who helped develop the HOPE Framework; Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silver with “Pantsuit Politics”; and experts in messaging from FrameWorks. Over 250 Kentuckians were present for a day centered around cultivating a brighter future through systemic change.

Educating on Economic Impact of ACEs 

In June of 2025, Bloom Kentucky released the Economic Impact of ACEs in Kentucky report which highlighted the annual estimated cost of ACEs on Kentucky’s economy – $295 million. The report was developed to understand how adversity in childhood impacts Kentucky’s economy, including offering an annual estimated financial impact of that economic burden due to medical costs and lost potential in the workforce and to identify strategies to build resilience and prevent the long term effects of adversity.

“Strong communities don’t happen by chance; they are built through intentional systems that understand that hardships in childhood happen and that how we respond plays a key role in how those kids grow up. Bloom Kentucky urges decisionmakers, community leaders, and caring adults to turn this data into action,” said Sara Hemingway, executive director of the Marilyn and William Young Charitable Foundation.

Expanding Understanding of Positive Childhood Experiences 

New research highlights the role of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and how these experiences can serve as a powerful buffer against the effects of adversity. In the fall of 2024, Bloom Kentucky launched a campaign to highlight the 7 key PCEs.

Empowering Youth Voice   

In January of 2024, Bloom co-hosted a youth retreat featuring a mock legislative committee meeting and a training on legislative processes and engagement in Frankfort. We engaged over 40 young people in sessions before they attended the annual Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. 

In June of 2024, Bloom Kentucky partnered with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General (KYOAG), Attorney General Russell Coleman, and leaders of the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to convene young people across the state for the purposes of informing a youth prevention campaign. Bloom Kentucky conducted a series of focus groups with youth across the state to elevate youth perspectives in shaping the Attorney General’s Better Without It campaign. With participation from 70 middle and high school students, we engaged young people from Mayfield, Springfield, Louisville, Hazard, and Covington, while a virtual focus group connected youth from Shelby, Warren, Taylor, and Boyle Counties. These focus groups directly supported the $3.6 million investment made by the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to support this initiative statewide. 

In 2025, Bloom Kentucky worked with youth to highlight positive childhood experiences and how these types of experiences lay the groundwork for lifelong resilience and well-being. Youth shared the nurturing moments, relationships, and environments that helped build their inner strength and emotional health.

Advancing Opioid Abatement for Healing Kentucky

Bloom Kentucky has served as a source of accessible opioid abatement educational opportunities. From communications around the opioid settlement funds and the distribution of tools to technical assistance for local communities to directly influencing dialogue around investing in PCEs, Bloom Kentucky has advanced understanding around the relationship between adversity and substance use and how abatement efforts can break generational cycles through the intentional investment of resources.

Bloom Kentucky has provided more than 50+ presentations and workshops and co-hosted over 15+ educational webinars educating stakeholders across the state related to ACEs data, opioid settlement opportunities, positive childhood experiences (PCEs), and best practices in addressing ACEs through policy change.

Listening to Kentuckians through the Sowing Resilience Tour

Central to Bloom Kentucky’s work is listening to Kentuckians and hearing about their challenges and desires for change. In 2023, Bloom Kentucky made 19 stops across the Commonwealth and heard from over 350 Kentuckians including parents, teachers, community leaders, service providers, elected officials, youth, and more. Throughout the tour, Bloom Kentucky asked about the biggest challenges facing children and families and found commonalities in all nine Department for Community Based Services regions around issues including housing, poverty, mental health, kinship/foster care, and substance use. 

These themes identified were used to inform Bloom Kentucky’s priorities for the 2024 session and beyond! 

What’s ahead? Cultivating a Commonwealth Where All Families Can Flourish

As we reflect on what we’ve accomplished together, we know there is much work to be done for Kentucky’s kids and families and are energized by what is ahead. Bloom Kentucky will continue to work to positively shape the environments in which families live, work, and play. As we look ahead, there are significant opportunities for youth, advocates, and leaders to join us as in our mission, including:

• Advocacy to direct social media settlement dollars the state receives towards positive childhood experiences
• Requesting technical assistance and support around investing in prevention efforts with the opioid settlement funds 
• Galvanizing advocates through another in-person convening 
• Advancing policy priorities that mitigate the impact of ACEs and promote PCEs 
• Listening to youth to understand how social media is impacting youth mental health and how youth would like to see social media settlement dollars utilized

View the ‘Celebrating 5 Years of Bloom Kentucky’ one pager.