By Leondrea Johnson About a year ago, one of the staff people at YouthBuild Louisville told us he had an opportunity for a couple of us to participate in. When we met the first time with Kentucky Youth Advocates, the work they talked about pulled me in. They asked us about what changes we wanted to see in our community and talked about things that some of us had experienced - like school suspensions and [...]
The entire workforce is struggling to find the high-quality employees that it needs to stabilize business. In the past, employers could offer a competitive salary and a benefit package with health insurance and that would be enough to draw in the employees they needed. However, that is no longer the case. Eighty-three percent of working families with children under the age of five are struggling to pay for child care. If the adults in the [...]
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women’s, Infant, and Children (WIC) provides vital support for the food and nutrition security of pregnant women, new moms, babies, and young children by providing food assistance via an EBT card, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support. While this support is critical for new parents and young children, the WIC program is out of date and does not reach everyone who is eligible. Kinship caregivers and Kentucky’s Latinx population face [...]
By: Tia Humphrey Over the past year or so, I have worked with Kentucky Youth Advocates and other Young Adults on a grant surrounding the disproportionality African American youth face with the foster system. Not only has this given me the opportunity and platform to share my testimony of experience, but it has also allowed me to connect and relate to my peers with different and similar experiences. Not only was I able to share my testimony, [...]
What does Bloom Kentucky and Mickey Mouse have in common this summer? They are both ALL EARS. As soon as the gavel fell for the 2023 state legislative session, Bloom Kentucky already had a plan to get advocates excited about 2024. Kentucky Youth Advocates and Bloom Kentucky want to hear from you! During May and June 2023, we’re hosting regionally-based listening sessions across the Commonwealth to bring local advocates and leaders together to identify strategies [...]
Too Many Kentucky Young People Exit Foster Care Without Permanent Families and Unprepared to Thrive on Their Own Fostering Youth Transitions 2023 Urges Improvements to Extended Foster Care Transition LOUISVILLE, KY – Permanent families and supportive adult connections, stable housing, and postsecondary education remain beyond the reach of too many young people with foster care experience, according to Fostering Youth Transitions 2023: State and National Data to Drive Foster Care Advocacy, a data brief released [...]
May is National Foster Care Month. Did you know that Kentucky has over 8,500 children in out-of-home care? As of April 2, 2023, nearly 30 percent of those children have a permanent goal of adoption, 53 percent have a goal of reunification, and the remaining 17 percent may have other permanency goals, such as emancipation or locating a fictive kin/relative. Nearly 70 percent of Kentucky’s kids in out-of-home care are placed in foster homes, while [...]
Since 2002, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health recognizes April as National Minority Health Month, established to support efforts to educate on and eliminate health disparities for ethnic and racial minority groups. This year, the Office is highlighting the importance of providing healthcare services, information, and resources that are linguistically and culturally competent to create better and more equitable health outcomes for everyone. April is also when Black Maternal [...]
As we continue to reflect on the 2023 legislative session, Kentucky Youth Advocates is recapping an item of particular interest for families across the Commonwealth – the adult Medicaid expansion and Senate Bill 65. How did we get here? In October 2022, Governor Beshear announced an expansion of the dental, vision, and hearing benefits available for adults on Medicaid. This change included several new dental services covered for adults. The additions were largely restorative procedures [...]
“Hope blooms when the time is ready.” – Debasish Mridha After seeing waves of the opioid epidemic pass through Kentucky since the late 1990s, Kentucky is ready and well-equipped to turn the tide. Due to actions taken by all three branches of Kentucky’s government, and major efforts by the Attorney General’s office specifically, we are set to see hundreds of millions of dollars come directly to Kentucky from the opioid settlement. With investments and persistence, [...]
