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Guest Blog: Updates to the Foster Youth Bill of Rights & Extended Care Policy

By Tamara Vest This year, the Voices of the Commonwealth (VOC) set policy initiatives for young people in foster care. Those initiatives included amendments to the foster youth bill of rights to promote inclusivity for young people in several ways. They also advocated for changes to Kentucky’s extended foster care policy. The initiatives were filed into Senate Bill 8, which was sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams and was passed by both bodies of the [...]

By |2022-05-12T09:28:35-04:00May 10th, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety|
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Journey to Success: Policy Solutions to Improve Outcomes for All Youth and Young Adults Who Experience Foster Care

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, a time to acknowledge the 463,000 children and youth in foster care and the family members, foster parents, volunteers, mentors, child welfare professionals, and policymakers who help them find permanent homes and connections. It is also a time to join forces and renew our commitment to ensuring a bright future for the over 8,800 Kentucky children in Out of Home Care (OOHC).  Along with the Partnership for America’s [...]

By |2022-05-02T16:00:08-04:00May 2nd, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Race Equity|
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Next Steps in Justice Legislation in Kentucky

During the 2022 General Assembly, several bills that were on the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children policy priority agenda made it to the Governor’s desk, as well as a number of innovative bills that prioritize support for children and families. For example, Senator Whitney Westerfield’s SB 90 establishes a pilot program to create behavioral health treatment alternatives to incarceration and will allow criminal charges to be dismissed upon successful completion of the program. As we celebrate [...]

By |2022-04-28T09:58:33-04:00April 28th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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OP-ED: Lots of Questions for the 2022 KY General Assembly

This post originally appeared as an op-ed in the Courier Journal on April 21, 2022. By Dr. Terry Brooks In a press conference before the historic launch of Apollo 11 to the moon, Neil Armstrong was asked about the answers he hoped to discover with his moonwalk. He responded by asserting that he will likely have more questions to ask than answers. That is how I feel as we leave the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly – I have a whole bunch of [...]

By |2024-04-25T12:29:08-04:00April 21st, 2022|Blog, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, News Room, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Wins & Missed Opportunities for Kids in the 2022 General Assembly

The final gavel has fallen for the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly! This year, the Governor and the Kentucky General Assembly were tasked with crafting a two-year state budget, tackle redistricting, advance policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic, tax reform, and other policy priorities that would be good for the communities they represent and the Commonwealth. If we take a second to reflect, that’s a heavy lift in a long 60-day session. There was good news [...]

By |2022-04-20T16:29:28-04:00April 20th, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Justice, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Final Passage of HB 174 by the General Assembly

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director, Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Kentucky Youth Advocates and partners in the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children are celebrating today as House Bill 174 received its final passage as part of Senate Bill 178, a favorable bill sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams, and now heads to the Governor for signature. Parents’ health and access to health insurance coverage, especially for mothers, affects the [...]

By |2022-04-14T14:53:09-04:00April 14th, 2022|Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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Update on Priorities for Kids in the Final Days of KYGA22

The 2022 Kentucky General Assembly has wrapped up Day 58 of the 60-day legislative session and there are many key Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children wins to already celebrate. These priority bills have passed the Kentucky House and Senate and have been delivered to the Governor: Senate Bill 8 to strengthen points of the child welfare system, from child maltreatment prevention to investigation to healing and out-of-home care – signed by the Governor! Senate Bill 97 [...]

By |2022-04-06T09:42:03-04:00March 31st, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Child Welfare & Safety, Economic Security, Education, Health, Race Equity, Youth Justice|
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Statement on Final Passage of SB 102 by the Kentucky House

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director, Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – We’re celebrating today as the Kentucky House has passed Senate Bill 102, sponsored by Senator Max Wise, to help ensure there is an adequate number of school-based mental health providers to serve students in need of supports. Even before the isolation and other challenges brought forth by the pandemic, children across the Commonwealth struggled with their mental health – [...]

By |2022-03-25T10:31:23-04:00March 25th, 2022|Bloom Kentucky, Education, Health, News Room|
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Statement on Passage of HB 174 by the Senate Health & Welfare Committee

Contact: Mara Powell mpowell@kyyouth.org Statement by Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director, Kentucky Youth Advocates LOUISVILLE, KY – Postpartum is a vulnerable time for new mothers and their baby, and this is especially true for women on Medicaid, many of whom are at risk of losing their health insurance coverage just 60 days after the end of pregnancy. Kentucky is one step closer to extending that coverage with today’s passage of House Bill 174 by the [...]

By |2022-03-23T11:00:52-04:00March 23rd, 2022|Health, News Room, Race Equity|
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The Primary Caregiver Law & Minimizing the Impact of Parental Incarceration

Having a loved one who is incarcerated impacts everyone, especially children. Kentucky has the 6th highest rate of parental incarceration with more than one in ten children having a parent who is incarcerated and more than half of all incarcerated adults – 64% of women and 55% of men – being parents. Parental incarceration is an Adverse Childhood Experience, or ACE, because it can negatively affect a child’s short and long-term behavioral, educational, and health [...]

By |2022-03-22T18:30:41-04:00March 22nd, 2022|Blog, Bloom Kentucky, Justice|
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