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A Federal Spotlight on Foster Youth and What it Could Mean for Kentucky

Last month, the Trump administration released an Executive Order titled Fostering the Future for American Children and Families at a press conference with the President and First Lady, signaling that current foster youth and young people aging out of care are an important issue for the administration, and the First Lady in particular.  When announcing the order, the administration discussed and acknowledged the long-standing challenges within the foster care system, particularly for youth who transition [...]

By |2025-12-18T13:30:20-05:00December 18th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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New Issue Brief: Strengthening Legal Representation for Kentucky Families

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org New Issue Brief: Strengthening Legal Representation for Kentucky Families An Analysis of Pre-Petition Legal Representation and Recommendations to Improve Outcomes LOUISVILLE, KY – When families have access to quality legal representation during child welfare involvement, children are more likely to remain safely with their parents, leading to improved long-term outcomes. Yet, most Kentucky families do not receive legal representation until after a child has been removed and a court petition has [...]

By |2025-12-17T13:48:25-05:00December 17th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|
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2025 Kentucky KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard Launches with a Snapshot on Childhood Obesity and Food Access

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org 2025 Kentucky KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard Launches with a Snapshot on Childhood Obesity and Food Access Featuring the latest county-level data for key measures of child health, education, economic security, and family and community Louisville, KY – The 2025 Kentucky KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard, released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates, features the latest data on measures of child well-being, showing whether outcomes for children across the Commonwealth have improved, worsened, or [...]

By |2025-12-11T09:12:26-05:00December 11th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, News Room|
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The Child Care Landscape Heading into 2026

With only a month until the beginning of Kentucky’s legislative session, it is essential for child advocates to be up-to-date on the topics most likely to impact children and families in 2026.  The General Assembly will undoubtedly be discussing topics like food insecurity, children experiencing homelessness, and Kentucky children having access to appropriate health care – and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children has a number of state policy and budget priorities that will impact kids [...]

By |2025-12-10T10:50:47-05:00December 10th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Education|
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Announcing the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children 2026 State Policy and Budget Priority Agenda

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Louisville, KY – Kentucky Youth Advocates recently released the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children 2026 priority agenda, featuring state policy changes and budget investments that will impact kids and families across the Commonwealth. The Blueprint for Kentucky's Children speaks with a common voice to create brighter futures for all Kentucky kids and their families. The coalition is comprised of non-profit, public, and private organizations that stands on three pillars: thriving communities launch strong families, strong families [...]

By |2025-12-16T11:46:20-05:00December 2nd, 2025|Blog, News Room|
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Looking Ahead to the 2026 Budget Session and Advocating for Kids

As the interim legislative session winds down and Kentuckians begin settling in for the holidays, the 2026 General Assembly is right around the corner. Like every even year in the Commonwealth, 2026 will bring a long legislative session that includes the passing of a new two-year state budget.  Legislators will return to Frankfort on Tuesday, January 6th to kick off the 60 day session that will charge Kentucky legislators with considering proposed bills and crafting [...]

By |2025-12-17T09:38:25-05:00December 1st, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Kids Count, Youth Justice|
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New Issue Brief: Improving the Safety of Kentucky’s Youngest Children

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org New Issue Brief: Improving the Safety of Kentucky’s Youngest Children Understanding the Scope of Child Abuse in Child Centers and Proposed Recommendations LOUISVILLE, KY – Parents across Kentucky rely on child care options in order to go to work and provide for their family. While the vast majority of child care programs are safe and high-quality, recent data shows that incidents of child abuse emanating from child care centers have increased [...]

By |2025-11-20T10:23:11-05:00November 20th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, News Room|
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Eviction Data Dashboard: Turning Insight Into Action

Last week, Kentucky Youth Advocates hosted a webinar introducing the Kentucky Eviction Data Dashboard, an interactive tool that displays eviction filings and trends across the state from 2022-2024. The dashboard was developed to help policymakers, advocates, and community members understand the scope and impact of eviction in Kentucky and its impact on kids and families.  Understanding the Impact of Eviction on Kids and Families The webinar opened with an overview of eviction, [...]

By |2025-11-13T10:26:48-05:00November 12th, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security|
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The State of Youth Vaping and Strategies to Address the Epidemic

Kentucky kids need environments that support their health and wellbeing - a goal that can be supported by policy and budget investments. As the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative continues to explore ways to improve child health outcomes, a recent statement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlighted the dangers of youth vaping - an epidemic that continues to impact teens across Kentucky.  This week, in addition to their stated focus [...]

By |2025-11-06T11:52:08-05:00November 6th, 2025|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Health|
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Common-Sense Eviction Reform Heard in Interim Judiciary Committee

At the October meeting for the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary, Representative Susan Witten presented on legislation that she filed during the 2025 legislative session aimed at making common sense changes to Kentucky’s eviction process to reduce the long-term, harmful effects on kids and families.  “As the Housing Taskforce Co-Chair, the past two years we have worked really hard to try to identify state level solutions to Kentucky’s housing crisis,” Representative Witten stated during her [...]

By |2025-11-12T12:40:25-05:00October 23rd, 2025|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Economic Security|
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