This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum we discuss the trauma of the dual pandemics--COVID-19 and racial inequities--for kids and families and what schools and community organizations can do to create supportive environments that can help build resiliency. Panelists include Dr. Kish Cumi Price, Director of Education Policy and Programming at Louisville Urban League; Raine Minichan, Interim Coordinator of Mental Health Services & Guidance Counseling with Fayette County Public Schools; and Ebony O'Rea, Trainer [...]

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we are joined by Chair of the U.S. House Budget Committee, Representative John Yarmuth, for a continued discussion around pending COVID-19 relief packages and more. View our COVID-19 Action Hub to take action on federal priorities for Kentucky kids and families. Review a comparison of provisions that support young children, their families, and child care providers in enacted legislation in response to COVID-19, as well as relevant [...]

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum we continue our discussions about priorities for kids and families as Congress debates the next federal COVID-19 relief package, including the U.S. House of Representatives' HEROES Act and the U.S. Senate's HEALS Act. To localize those ongoing federal conversations, we heard from several Kentucky leaders and advocates, including: Lisa Lee, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Medicaid; Mandy Simpson, Director of Public Policy for Metro United Way; [...]

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we share report findings and facilitate conversations on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child welfare system. In the spring, Kentucky Youth Advocates, in partnership with Casey Family Programs, set out to get a better understanding of how the public health crisis was impacting young people who are foster or kinship alumni, biological parents, kinship caregivers, foster parents, and service providers that interact with the [...]