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Bloom Kentucky Announces 2023 State Policy Priorities

On your mark… Get set… GO! The 2023 Kentucky General Assembly is underway, and advocates from across the Commonwealth are sprinting into action to help improve outcomes for kids and families. Bloom Kentucky recently released its 2023 state policy priorities to help advocates in their race to the finish line.  Bloom Kentucky is a collaborative initiative of grantmaking organizations from across the Commonwealth focused on statewide policy changes and budget investments that aim to prevent [...]

By |2023-01-25T14:17:03-05:00January 25th, 2023|Blog, Bloom Kentucky|
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Ending the Youth Vaping Crisis: A Plea from Schools

We've heard the stats – more than 1 in 4 Kentucky 12th graders and 1 in 5 10th graders report vaping in the past year. Yet the reality is, that is likely a severe undercount of the vaping crisis that is plaguing our schools based on firsthand experience from teachers, administrators, and students themselves. Addressing the issue early on reduces the likelihood that youth will begin using products containing nicotine and become addicted. In fact, [...]

By |2023-01-18T15:08:25-05:00January 18th, 2023|Blog, Education, Health|
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Statement on Passage of SCR 31 to Establish a Legislative Workgroup on Juvenile Justice

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Way to go, David Givens! As emotions and rhetoric heat up around juvenile justice, Senator Givens has architected a thoughtful and reflective approach to address what is, indeed, a crisis in the Commonwealth. The legislative working group – a step closer to being established with today's Senate vote on Senate Concurrent Resolution 31 – will assess a [...]

By |2023-01-06T12:02:45-05:00January 6th, 2023|News Room, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Governor Beshear’s 2023 State of the Commonwealth Address

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – In his far-ranging State of the Commonwealth Address, the Governor raised some key issues related to the well-being of Kentucky’s kids – from health to education to community safety to workforce. As well as the ongoing impacts of crises that Kentucky's kids have lived through across the Commonwealth – from natural disasters to a global pandemic. First, [...]

By |2023-01-04T20:40:21-05:00January 4th, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, News Room, Youth Justice|
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Updates on Children’s Advocacy Week 2023

New year, new information about Children’s Advocacy Week 2023! With the General Assembly reconvening and the robust Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda in need of advocacy, we wanted to share the schedule and a few reminders to help you lift your voice on behalf of kids during Children’s Advocacy Week coming up February 6-10. Advocates, find a schedule of the week’s events – both virtual and in-person – below. Please note that event times are subject [...]

By |2023-02-03T09:10:32-05:00January 3rd, 2023|Blog|
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Launching the 2023 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children Policy Agenda

Each year, Kentucky Youth Advocates releases the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy agenda featuring the lead priorities for kids and families. For 2023, the Blueprint priorities focus on strengthening systems and policies to advance equity and uplift every Kentucky family. The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is a coalition of non-profit, public, and private organizations that stands on three pillars: thriving communities launch strong families, strong families launch successful kids, and successful kids launch a prosperous [...]

By |2023-02-01T16:19:19-05:00January 3rd, 2023|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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OP-ED: There is common ground in the juvenile justice continuum of interventions

This post originally appeared as an op-ed by The Herald Leader on December 29, 2022. By Dr. Terry Brooks The country music sensation and Lexington’s own, Chris Stapleton, suggests, “Everybody’s got a story on their beards. I guess it’s just a way of finding common ground.” Maybe Governor Beshear, President Stivers, and Speaker Osborne – and maybe even the Chief Justice – should grow beards so the Commonwealth can find a common ground when it [...]

By |2024-04-25T12:28:56-04:00December 29th, 2022|Blog, News Room, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Benefits Cliff Task Force 2022 Findings & Recommendations

For most families, getting a raise or new job is a reason to celebrate. For families on public benefits, however, an increase in income is often met with anxiety around how their benefits will be impacted by the benefits cliff.  The benefits cliff refers to a sudden decrease in public benefits as a result of an increase in earnings. This loss in benefits often leaves families worse off financially, even though they are making more [...]

By |2022-12-16T13:30:19-05:00December 16th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security|
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Early Childhood Education Task Force 2022 Findings & Recommendations

Kentucky’s Early Childhood Education Task Force has been meeting diligently since June to obtain a greater understanding of Kentucky’s child care resources and how the state can better support that infrastructure to assist families and local businesses. On November 21st, the committee formally presented its findings and recommendations for the rest of Kentucky’s General Assembly.   Among its findings, the committee identified that Kentucky does not have enough child care available for all working families and [...]

By |2022-12-15T16:13:29-05:00December 15th, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education|
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A Conversation with Congressman-Elect McGarvey

Terry Brooks sits down with Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky Senate Minority Floor Leader and Congressman-Elect for Kentucky's 3rd District, to discuss the landscape and his priorities for children and families as he leaves Frankfort and heads to Washington, DC. Thank you to Aetna Better Health of Kentucky for supporting the Making Kids Count podcast. Visit AetnaMedicaidKY.com/choose to learn more about their health care benefits and programs designed with your family’s wellbeing in [...]

By |2022-12-12T12:01:49-05:00December 13th, 2022|Podcast|
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