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Statement on Final Passage of HB 561

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – This week, the Kentucky Senate ensured final passage of Representative Samara Heavrin’s House Bill 561 – an important measure that takes steps to strengthen Kentucky’s vulnerable child care infrastructure. By permanently establishing the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership (ECCAP) and creating the Certified Child Care Community Designation Program, HB 561 has the potential to support a strong local [...]

By |2024-03-22T14:51:27-04:00March 22nd, 2024|Economic Security, Education, News Room|
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Statement on Passage of SB 151 by the Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Thousands of Kentucky’s kinship and fictive kin families flat out won today with the final passage of Senate Bill 151, championed by Senator Julie Raque Adams, by the Kentucky House. Just as these caregivers step up at a moment’s notice to provide a safe space for their young loved ones to grow and heal, our General Assembly has [...]

By |2024-03-22T11:26:50-04:00March 22nd, 2024|Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, News Room|
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Understanding Chronic Absenteeism vs. Truancy and Best Practices to Address It

Understanding the nuances between chronic absenteeism and truancy is essential for educators, policymakers, and communities to enhance student engagement and success. Both of these terms often get conflated, yet they describe different patterns of absence with distinct implications for how schools may address absenteeism.  For this reason, it’s important to know these differences, understand and use accurate data when describing these terms, and recognize that addressing absenteeism is a multifaceted issue that can be addressed [...]

By |2024-03-21T12:36:00-04:00March 21st, 2024|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Passage of HB 275 by the Senate Education Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY –Child safety is an adult responsibility – the responsibility of parents, of educators, of our lawmakers. And today, our lawmakers in the Senate Education Committee exemplified that with the advancement of House Bill 275, championed by Representative James Tipton. HB 275 mandates that public schools, charter schools, and certified nonpublic schools cannot enter into nondisclosure agreements regarding misconduct [...]

By |2024-03-21T11:59:44-04:00March 21st, 2024|Child Welfare & Safety, Education, News Room|
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Kentuckians: We Need Your Input on Tools Needed to Address Opioid Use in Your Community

By Andrew Alvey, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates As Bloom Kentucky has detailed, the opioid crisis has significantly impacted all of Kentucky’s communities. In 2020, Kentucky had the third-highest age-adjusted drug overdose fatality rate in the United States. This statistic shows the urgency with which we must come together to create opportunities for healing and resilience. With support from the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, Kentucky Youth Advocates is leading a project to collect [...]

By |2024-03-21T12:37:39-04:00March 20th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity|
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Blooming in your Backyard: Harnessing Opioid Settlement Funds for Local Impact

Updated April 29, 2024 Grab your toolbox (reference from prior blog) because we are READY to add more tools! Bloom Kentucky hosted a webinar on Wednesday, April 24th – Blooming in your Backyard: Harnessing Opioid Settlement Funds for Local Impact! Co-hosted with the Kentucky Association of County Counties’ (KACo) Lauren Carr, Opioid Settlement Advisor, this webinar put a spotlight on the power of local action in the battle against the opioid crisis. Gain insight [...]

By |2024-04-29T15:51:29-04:00March 20th, 2024|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice|
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Statement on KY Senate 2024 State Budget Proposal

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – With passage of the biennial state budget proposal by both the Kentucky House and Senate, House Bill 6 as amended will now head into conference committee for negotiations on a final proposal to send to the Governor’s desk. As is often said about budgets – they are more than dollars and cents, they are a value proposition. [...]

By |2024-03-13T19:59:27-04:00March 13th, 2024|Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Medicaid, News Room, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Passage of HB 561 by the Senate Families & Children Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Representative Samara Heavrin continues to champion strengthening Kentucky’s child care infrastructure alongside Senator Danny Carroll – and that was evident today with the unanimous passage of House Bill 561 by the Senate Families & Children Committee. HB 561 permanently establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership (ECCAP) and creates the Certified Child Care Community Designation Program – [...]

By |2024-03-12T12:46:47-04:00March 12th, 2024|Economic Security, Education, News Room|
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Statement on Passage of HB 11 by the Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kids won today in the Kentucky House when members supported passage of House Bill 11, sponsored by Representative Rebecca Raymer. As youth vaping continues to be a concern among Kentucky families and communities, this bill takes important steps to reduce youth access and limit initiation of addictive nicotine products. Provisions of this bill will provide a more [...]

By |2024-03-11T17:01:12-04:00March 11th, 2024|Education, Health, News Room|
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Statement on Passage of HB 377 by the Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Recruit, retain, quality, qualified. These foci of a strong workforce – especially among our K-12 educator workforce – means a stronger Commonwealth for our kids. We know that the greatest impact on learning for students is having a well-trained educator in the classroom. With Kentucky’s shortage of teachers, it is time to invest in the recruitment and [...]

By |2024-03-08T10:37:12-05:00March 8th, 2024|Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security, Education, News Room|
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