Kentucky Youth Advocates

08/21/2026

📢 SAVE THE DATE 🎉 Children's Advocacy Day at the Capitol is February 25, 2027!

Kentucky kids need advocates more than ever before and we’re counting on YOU to show up for kids in 2027!

Visit kyyouth.org/caw/ to reminisce on Children's Advocacy Day 2026. Check out kyyouth.org/sponsor/ to review available sponsorship opportunities that ensure Frankfort's biggest advocacy day for kids is possible.

08/20/2026

We're looking forward to this event!

Join the Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky for a FREE evening created especially for kinship caregivers. Come enjoy a meal, connect with other caregivers who understand, and learn about resources, benefits, and supports that may be available to you and your family.
📅 Thursday, September 10 | 5–6:30 p.m. CDT
📍 Logan County Cooperative Extension

Register today and bring a friend: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/kinshipfamiliescoalitionofky/event/kinconnections-tworivers/

This one is for YOU, kinship caregivers. ❤️

Are you a grandparent, aunt, uncle, older sibling, cousin, or family friend who is raising a child? Maybe you stepped in unexpectedly. Maybe you’ve been doing this for years. Either way, you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

Join us for a FREE evening created especially for kinship caregivers. Come enjoy a meal, connect with other caregivers who understand, and learn about resources, benefits, and supports that may be available to you and your family.

📅 Thursday, September 10 | 5–6:30 p.m. CDT
📍 Logan County Cooperative Extension

In partnership with WellCare of Kentucky and Kentucky Youth Advocates.

If you’re raising a relative’s or close family friend’s child, we’d love to have you there. Register today and bring a friend: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/kinshipfamiliescoalitionofky/event/kinconnections-tworivers/

08/19/2026

As kids head back to school this August, federal changes to the education system are taking shape – with potential implications for Kentucky students.

Our latest blog post takes a deep dive into changes to the federal Office of Special Education and Office of Civil Rights and how states will have to bolster their special education system to ensure all students get the quality education they need to be successful:

As kids head back to school this August, federal changes to the education system are taking shape – with potential implications for Kentucky students. Although most of the public education system is planned and implemented at the state level, the special education system is regulated and funded by...

08/18/2026

We're excited to announce that Alicia Whatley is now Kentucky Youth Advocates' Managing Director of Policy and Research 🎉

We look forward to Alicia working towards strengthening and aligning our policy and research efforts and continuing to ensure that Kentucky can be the best place for kids to grow and thrive!

Learn more about KYA's policy, data, and research efforts at kyyouth.org.

Join us in congratulating and cheering on Alicia!

08/17/2026

Join Kentucky Youth Advocates and community partners as we bring together local advocates and decision makers to discuss regional data on how kids are faring, elevate the most pressing issues impacting kids and families, and identify actionable strategies for change.

Event: The Kids Table -- A Blueprint for Kentucky's Children Regional Convening in Florence
Date: Friday, September 18th
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET
Location: Northern Kentucky Area Development District

💻 Register for this convening: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/kentuckyyouthadvocates/event/thekidstableinflorence/

👏 Thank you to our signature event sponsor, Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, and Regional Table Sponsor, Partners for Rural Impact!

📍This is one event in a series of four Blueprint for Kentucky's Children regional convenings that will serve as a launchpad for coordinated advocacy efforts, building momentum ahead of key elections and the 2027 legislative session. Stay tuned for details on The Kids Table events in London, Paducah, and Elizabethtown!

08/17/2026

Join Kentucky Nonprofit Network's Virtual Town Hall on August 20 to hear Kentucky Youth Advocates' Tara Grieshop-Goodwin and Karena Cash share why the Census matters for Kentucky communities, why nonprofit engagement is essential, and what organizations can do NOW to help lay the groundwork for a complete and accurate count.

✔️ Register for the August 20 Town Hall: https://bit.ly/45uc2cd
✔️ View the Census Advocacy Toolkit for resources to educate policymakers and people in your community about the steps to take to ensure the Census Bureau has what it needs to get Kentuckians the data, resources, and representation needed at kyyouth.org/censusky/.

The 2030 Census may seem far away, but planning and partnership efforts are already beginning. When people aren't counted, communities can miss out on funding, resources, and representation. That's why the work to ensure a complete count starts years before Census Day.

On our August 20 Virtual Town Hall, Tara Grieshop-Goodwin and Karena Cash from Kentucky Youth Advocates will join us to share why the Census matters for Kentucky communities, why nonprofit engagement is essential, and what organizations can do NOW to help lay the groundwork for a complete and accurate count.

Register for the August 20 Town Hall: https://bit.ly/45uc2cd

08/16/2026

Call for Photos of Kentucky Kids 📸

Kentucky Youth Advocates is looking for photos of Kentucky kids and families to be used within the Kentucky KIDS COUNT project and other KYA publications.

Show off your little Kentucky stars by featuring them in our content! Snap some photos this week and submit: https://kyyouth.org/photo-release-form/

08/14/2026

As students across the Commonwealth are heading back to school, August is a great time to prioritize kids learning and staying healthy – and an important way to do that is by ensuring kids stay on track with immunizations as they grow.

This National Immunization Month is an optimal time to check on your child’s immunization status to help keep them and their peers healthy and safe at school. In Kentucky, students are required to submit an immunization record to their school in kindergarten, seventh, and eleventh grade.

Read more about the importance of keeping kids up to date on immunizations:

As students across the Commonwealth are heading back to school, August is a great time to prioritize kids learning and staying healthy – and an important way to do that is by ensuring kids stay on track with immunizations as they grow. August is also recognized as National

08/13/2026

NEW Making Kids Count Podcast Episode🎙️5 Years of Bloom Kentucky: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Headed

Dr. Shannon Moody is joined by three grantmaking partners in the Bloom Kentucky initiative: Allison Adams, President and CEO of the Foundation For a Healthy Kentucky; Kristin Walker Collins, CEO of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky; and Sonya Carrico, Director of Policy at Interact for Health. They discuss Bloom Kentucky’s five years of impact in policy change, community engagement, and youth empowerment.

🎧 Listen here or on your favorite podcast app: https://kyyouth.org/5-years-of-bloom-kentucky-where-weve-been-and-where-were-headed/
📱 Watch on KYA’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tMFY5SV_Vs&t=2s
💻 Learn more at kyyouth.org/bloom

08/12/2026

Today is International Youth Day and what better way to celebrate than by announcing a Youth Listening Tour and the Disconnect to Connect in Real Life Challenge, a campaign led by youth for youth!

Bloom Kentucky is heading across the state to gather youth feedback so potential social media settlement dollars are directed toward the real-life programs, spaces, and supports that young people actually value and need.

📱 Watch this video from Aleah on how to join the movement and get involved in the 'Disconnect to Connect in Real Life' Challenge.

💻 Read more on the Disconnect to Connect Challenge, including a printable/shareable guide: https://kyyouth.org/bloom-kentucky-engages-youth-in-disconnect-to-connect-in-real-life-challenge/