Making Kids Count

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss how we can best support youth who are LGBTQ+, especially as many of them are at risk of facing certain challenges, including homelessness, trafficking, mental health needs, and more. Thank you to our panelists: Rick Wurth, Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky, and Eltuan Dawson, youth advocate and board member of Sweet...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss opportunity youth--young people ages 16 to 24 who are neither employed nor in school--including new research, policy recommendations, and program developments across the state. Thank you to our panelists: Kate Arthur, Community and Youth Services Director at Brighton Center; Dawn Carson, Street Outreach Supervisor at the Brighton Center; Roan Hea...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss updates relating to child nutrition and access to food, including summer EBT, federal investments, and more. Thank you to our panelists: Karena Cash, Advocacy Coordinator with Feeding Kentucky; Leigh Dixon, Community Support Advisor Kentucky Department for Community-Based Services; and Michael Halligan, CEO of God’s Pantry Food Bank and Chair of...

This week on our Advocate Virtual forum, we discuss the 2021 national KIDS COUNT Data Book, which was recently co-released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates. We review Kentucky data included in the book and discuss federal and state recommendations to improve child well-being and ensure an equitable and expansive recovery from the pandemic. View the Kentucky State Data...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss young children with special needs, including early identification of special needs and how communities, service providers, and policymakers can support these kids and their families. A special thank you to our panelists: Ivy Alexander, Executive Director of CHFS Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs; Judith Bradley, Founder of Jack B...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss how school districts are developing their trauma-informed plans, what needs to be included, and how plans will be implemented. As a result of 2019's Senate Bill 1, the School Safety and Resiliency Act, each local board of education must develop a plan for implementing a trauma-informed approach in its schools by July 1, 2021. A special thank...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss teens in foster care and the importance of fostering teens. Thank you to our panelists: Christa Bell, Director of the DCBS Division of Protection and Permanency; Eltuan Dawson, member of True Up and former foster youth; Kelly Pullen, Executive Director of the Aetna Better Health of Kentucky SKY program; and Sarah Stalker, foster parent with exper...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss caring for, and working with, kids and youth who have experienced trauma of any kind, including the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic and racialized trauma. Thank you to our panelists: Samantha Behmke, Head Start Behavior Intervention Specialist with Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative; DeShara Doub, school mental health practitioner and Founder/CE...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss supporting youth aging out of foster care in Kentucky. Thank you to our panelists, including Nikki Thornton, Executive Director of True Up; Paula Garner, President and CEO of Maryhurst; and Cynthia Schepers, a young adult who aged out of foster care. As of April 2021, True Up is officially an affiliated initiative of Kentucky Youth Advocates to e...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss updates on the state of child care in Kentucky. Topics include how the American Rescue Plan funds will be spent, update on Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) enrollment and outreach efforts, the plan for staffed family child care networks, and a lookahead to the 2022 state legislative session. Thank you to our panelists: Dr. Sarah Vanover, Dire...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, Dr. Terry Brooks discusses child abuse prevention efforts and supporting Kentucky kids and their families with Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander. We also hear remarks from Governor Andy Beshear and Keith Inman, president of Kosair Charities, which founded and funds the Face It Movement. Learn more about the Face It M...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discussed the behavioral health landscape for Kentucky kids and their families, including new Louisville-based qualitative research about barriers to kids receiving high quality care and potential solutions to those barriers. Thank you to our panelists from across the state who shared more about the effects of the past year and how they have navigated se...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss kids and their families who experience–or are at risk of experiencing–homelessness in Kentucky, including solutions to prevent homelessness. Thank you to our panelists, including Adrienne Bush from the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky; George Eklund from the Coalition for the Homeless; and Darryl Young from the Coalition Supporting Youn...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss federal and state solutions to end child poverty with Bruce Lesley from First Focus on Children, including the anti-poverty measures included in the recent federal American Rescue Plan. Read more about cutting child poverty in half at firstfocus.org. Thank you to Aetna Better Health of Kentucky for supporting the Making Kids Count podcast. Visit...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we recap the 2021 Kentucky General Assembly with state Senator Reginald Thomas (D-Lexington) and Senator Whitney Westerfield (R-Crofton). View the Bill Tracker to see the final status of 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities and other bills that are good for kids. Check out our blog for a recap of wins for kids in the 2021 legislative session at...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss strengthening families to prevent child abuse and neglect, including building protective factors and a two-generation approach to mitigate parental trauma. Thank you to our panelists, including Melissa Goins, Director of the Kentucky Division of Family Resource and Youth Services Centers; Julia Goodman, Family Resource Center Coordinator with Ken...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss updates to Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) for Kentucky families. The P-EBT benefit has been extended for October 2020-June 2021, but this round of benefits will be administered differently than previous rounds. Thank you to our panelists: Jason Dunn, Director of the DCBS Division of Family Support, Karena Cash, Advocacy Coordinator with Feeding Kentucky, a...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss innovative solutions to bridge the digital divide for Kentucky kids and their families. Thank you to our panelists: Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, Alicia Sells from Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, and Ben Reno-Weber from the Greater Louisville Project. Thank you to Aetna Better Health of Kentucky for supporting the Making Kids Cou...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss the next chapter of COVID-19 and K-12 schools, including how to address the practical, day-to-day concerns of students’ socioemotional needs and evolving educational environment during this transitional time. Thank you to our partner panelists: Dr. Kish Cumi Price from the Louisville Urban League, Dr. Jim Flynn from the Kentucky Association of Sc...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss the first half of the Kentucky General Assembly, including updates on the status of bills that are good for kids and families and ways to take action, as well as an update on the state budget priorities and process. Learn more about the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities, view our Bill Tracker, and lookup ways to contact your state...

Dr. Terry Brooks was joined by Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman during Children's Advocacy Week for a discussion about her top priorities for kids now and in a post-pandemic Kentucky. Olivia Pierce, Face It Youth Ambassador of Russell County, shares remarks and Nora Priddy shares an opening song. This week, hundreds of youth and advocates from across Kentucky are virtually convening for Childr...

In place of the annual gathering in the Capitol Rotunda, advocates and state leaders tuned into the first virtual Rally for Kentucky Kids. Governor Andy Beshear, House Speaker David Osborne, and Senator Julie Raque Adams shared remarks, as well as young people from across the commonwealth. This week, hundreds of youth and advocates from across Kentucky are virtually convening for Children’s Advoca...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss how to prepare for Children’s Advocacy Week (February 1st-5th), including reminders about events during the week and updates on key policies to discuss with legislators. Learn more about the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities, check out our Advocacy Toolkit, view our Bill Tracker, and sign up for updates on Children’s Advocacy Week...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss updates from Part 1 of the Kentucky General Assembly, including bills filed related to kids and families, changes to the legislative session due to COVID, and an update on the state budget, as well as ways advocates can stay informed and take action throughout the legislative session. Learn more about the 2021 Blueprint for Kentucky's Childr...

This week on our Advocate Virtual Forum, we discuss the intersection of incarceration, substance abuse, and parenting--including new data about mothers who are incarcerated and state policy changes that would allow parents to be held accountable while remaining connected to their child. Panelists included Jennifer Hancock, president and CEO of Volunteers of America Mid-States, and Chaly Downs, gra...