Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 102 by the Senate Education Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director, Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Senate Education Chairman Max Wise and the Kentucky General Assembly have a track record of pragmatically approaching the complex issue of safety of students in schools. In 2019, the School Safety and Resiliency Act thoughtfully balanced the well-being of students with their physical safety by prioritizing access to mental health services and promoting trauma-informed environments. During this time [...]

Kentucky Is No Longer #1 in Child Maltreatment

By Shontelle Davis, MSSW intern at Kentucky Youth Advocates According to findings within the latest US Department of Health and Human Services annual Child Maltreatment Report, Kentucky no longer has the highest child victimization rate in the nation. Among all 50 states, Kentucky now has the 5th highest rate of child maltreatment as opposed to its number 1 spot in 2019.  With Senate Bill 8 being voted out of the Kentucky Senate and the release [...]

By |2022-02-14T09:47:26-05:00February 8th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|

Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 97 by the Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – One child who has experienced abuse or neglect, is one child too many – and a child fatality or near fatality should never happen in the first place. Yet, in 2020, there were 22 fatalities and 53 near fatalities due to substantiated cases of abuse or neglect in Kentucky. As the Commonwealth continues to reform the child welfare system, a critical component that must be considered is following the [...]

By |2022-02-07T17:31:34-05:00February 7th, 2022|Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|

The Inconvenient And Inspiring Truth About Children’s Advocacy Week

Y’all, let’s be real: Our days are now so full of virtual meetings that many of us are exhausted. Whether you are a professional who works with kids, a youth, or even a legislator, you have logged a lot of hours on Zoom. When, for the second year in a row, Children’s Advocacy Week had to be a fully virtual event, it would have been easy for you advocates to tune out. And yet? [...]

By |2022-02-03T14:40:31-05:00February 3rd, 2022|Blog|

Statement on Passage of Senate Bill 8 by the Kentucky Senate

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – The Kentucky General Assembly has a notable track record of stepping up for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, and that commitment continued today as the Kentucky Senate supported passage of Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams. SB 8 will impact children across the child welfare continuum – from child maltreatment prevention to investigation to healing and foster care. This legislation will create a uniform [...]

By |2022-02-02T15:11:16-05:00February 2nd, 2022|Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|

Community Input: Jail Practices to Support Children Visiting Incarcerated Parents

Kids rely on their parents to provide a safe home where all of their emotional, physical, and financial needs can be met. Unfortunately, in Kentucky more than one in 10 children have had a parent separated from them due to incarceration—the 6th highest rate in the nation.  Parental incarceration is an Adverse Childhood Experience that has been referred to as a “shared sentence” due to the short and long-term effects it has on a child’s [...]

By |2022-01-27T17:14:13-05:00January 27th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Justice, Race Equity|

Celebrating the 2022 Champions for Children

Elected leaders and advocates step up for Kentucky kids in countless ways every day, especially in Frankfort throughout the legislative session. During Children’s Advocacy Week, Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners in the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children present Champion for Children and Step Up for Kids awards to honor those state leaders and advocates for their efforts. At this year’s Rally for Kentucky Kids, we honored several members of the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly for [...]

“We owe our youth more… Now, let’s get to work!”

These remarks were part of the Rally for Kentucky Kids during 2022 Children's Advocacy Week. Watch a recording of the virtual rally via Facebook or YouTube.  By Tyler Hunter, Child Welfare Leader First, let me thank each and every one of you all for attending today’s rally for Children’s Advocacy Week. My name is Tyler Hunter. I am from one of the best places on earth… Bowling Green, Ky (Warren Co). Outside of being a [...]

By |2022-02-02T13:10:13-05:00January 19th, 2022|Blog|

Hundreds of Advocates Rally on Behalf of KY Kids, featuring Gov. Beshear and legislative leaders

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Governor Beshear, House Speaker Osborne, and Senator Westerfield Join Hundreds of Youth and Advocates for Virtual Rally for Kentucky Kids Louisville, KY – Hundreds of youth advocates from across Kentucky are virtually convening this week for Children’s Advocacy Week. They are urging elected leaders to support the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a unified agenda for child advocates across the state. Today, in place of the gathering in the Capitol Rotunda, advocates and state leaders tuned into [...]

By |2022-01-20T13:35:39-05:00January 19th, 2022|Blog, News Room|

Bloom Kentucky Announces 2022 State Policy and Budget Priorities

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org LOUISVILLE, KY – Over one in five Kentucky children have experienced at least two Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as experiencing or witnessing violence, being separated from a parent due to incarceration, or having substance use present in the household. 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 and mitigate the multi-generational impacts of childhood adversity so [...]

By |2022-01-18T12:00:43-05:00January 18th, 2022|Bloom Kentucky, News Room|
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