FacebookInstagramXYouTubeEmail

Ending the Mental Health-to-Incarceration Pipeline

Should children with mental health issues be incarcerated, or should they be given proper access to mental health treatment? In Kentucky specifically, 7 out of 10 youth involved with the juvenile justice system have a mental health condition. The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) recently released a new graphic (below) covering the mental health to incarceration pipeline so let’s take a look at how mental health and incarceration go hand in hand. Currently 1 in [...]

By |2022-07-06T16:34:54-04:00July 6th, 2022|Blog, Education, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
Read More

A Look at the New Early Childhood Education Task Force

The 2022 legislative session has ended, and now Kentucky’s lawmakers are dedicating their time to interim meetings in order to learn more about issues pressing the Commonwealth. This year a new committee has been added specifically to look at Kentucky’s early care and education systems – the Early Childhood Education Task Force is chaired by Senator Danny Carroll from Paducah and Representative Samara Heavrin from Leitchfield. They are joined by Senators Wil Schroder, Reginald Thomas, [...]

By |2022-07-06T16:14:24-04:00July 6th, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education, Race Equity|
Read More

Reflections from the 2022 KY Commission on Race & Access to Opportunity

Read about the November 2021 meeting of the Commission on Race and Opportunity here.  Following the 2021 General Assembly, SB 10, co-sponsored by Senator Givens, Senator Whitney Westerfield, and Senate President Robert Stivers, became law and established the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity. The group is tasked with studying and researching issues where disparities may exist across various sectors to determine areas of improvement and to provide services and opportunities for communities of [...]

By |2022-06-30T12:08:31-04:00June 30th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
Read More

Recognizing Federal Protections for the LGBTQ+ Community

By Jordan Ojile, Intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates June is recognized nationally as Pride Month, a time to celebrate strides made and remaining work in LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing. There have been several unsuccessful drives in recent years to protect Kentucky’s vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth. Since 2017, Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky has been at the forefront of education, advocacy, and lobbying efforts across the Commonwealth. During the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly, the Youth Mental Health Protection [...]

By |2022-06-23T12:40:58-04:00June 23rd, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|
Read More

Young Kids Are Learning to Regulate Their Emotions — They Should Not Be in the Juvenile Justice System

Children as young as six-years-old have been arrested in the U.S., which remains one of the only countries without a nationally mandated standard for juvenile prosecution. As of May 2022, just under half of states in the U.S. still have no minimum age for prosecuting children.  Six-year-olds are still learning how to regulate their emotions. Throwing a tantrum should not lead to the arrest of a child but should instead be a segue to introducing [...]

By |2022-06-17T00:19:10-04:00June 13th, 2022|Blog, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
Read More

Celebrating the Ceremonial Signing of New Legislation to Address Child Abuse in Kentucky

For immediate release: June 8, 2022 Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Celebrating the Ceremonial Signing of New Legislation to Address Child Abuse in Kentucky Governor Beshear and State Lawmakers Join Kentucky Youth Advocates and Kosair Charities Face It Movement Partners for Ceremonial Signing of SB 8 and HB 263 LOUISVILLE, KY – Today, Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners in the Kosair Charities Face It Movement joined Governor Andy Beshear and state leaders for the ceremonial bill [...]

By |2022-06-08T16:35:34-04:00June 8th, 2022|Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|
Read More

Being a Child Advocate Beyond the Legislative Session

Summer is here! Now is the time to discuss policies that passed in the 2022 legislative session and brainstorm new priorities for next session, create an advocacy plan around issues that impact your community and/or you, and educate policymakers. As you are getting out there enjoying summer activities, there are many ways to advocate for yourself, family, clients, and your community: Stay informed. Read and research topics of interest and/or topics you want to better [...]

By |2022-07-14T12:58:57-04:00June 7th, 2022|Blog|
Read More

Health Insurance Updates for Kentucky Families

All children, especially those living in low-income and vulnerable families, need access to affordable health care. Having health insurance means children are able to access critical preventive and ongoing care needed to stay healthy. It means that kids can visit the doctor, dentist, eye doctor, and mental health professionals to support their healthy development. A parent’s health—and health insurance status—affects the health and well-being of other family members, especially their children. When parents are insured, they [...]

By |2022-06-01T17:02:04-04:00June 1st, 2022|Blog, Health|
Read More

OP-ED: Let’s create more caring communities when it comes to mental health

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Messenger-Inquirer on May 25, 2022. By Barry Allen and the Bloom Kentucky Advisory Council “What’s wrong with you?” If you have struggled emotionally in public or amongst family or friends, you may have been asked this question. Maybe you’ve snapped at your child after losing your patience in the cereal aisle of the grocery store and a stranger gives you that questioning look. Or perhaps you’ve asked this [...]

By |2022-05-26T09:43:52-04:00May 26th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity|
Read More

Understanding the Child Care Staffing Crisis

The child care industry has suffered huge financial obstacles during the past two years. The Center for Disease Control asked child care programs to increase their health and safety requirements in a way that required additional staff to serve the same amount of children. COVID-19 outbreaks caused programs to shutdown classrooms, or even the entire program, for weeks at a time causing significant losses in revenue. Despite all these financial obstacles, they are still secondary [...]

By |2022-05-20T11:45:39-04:00May 20th, 2022|Blog, Economic Security, Education|
Read More
Go to Top