Roadshow | ThriveKY Policy & Advocacy Updates

Join the ThriveKY Coalition for important updates on the economy, Medicaid, KCHIP, SNAP, housing, transportation, childcare, public health, behavioral health, and suicide prevention. This month’s programs include an in-person event in Morehead on June 3 and a virtual program on June 17. Find more details here.

Webinar | Opioid Settlement Funds

Join Kentucky Youth Advocates for a webinar on the Opioid Data Dashboard on Children and Families. This webinar is designed to familiarize community leaders, local organizations, and stakeholders with this tool for understanding local impact from the opioid epidemic and informing decisions about how to maximize county opioid settlement funds for the greatest impact for Kentucky communities. Register here.

Webinar | Adverse Childhood Experiences

Join Bloom Kentucky for a webinar reviewing the findings from the Economic Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Kentucky report. This webinar will discuss the prevalence of childhood adversity in our state, highlight the staggering $295 million annual economic burden ACEs impose, and offer strategies for fostering resilience and reducing the impact of adversity. Register here.

Free Trial | Online Resource Subscription

SparkPlay is Playworks’ online subscription-based resource that supports continuous learning for school and youth development staff. This 14-day free trial will allow you to see how SparkPlay can benefit your organization through samples of its guided learning program, game guides, and content library. Learn more.

Training │ Youth Thrive

Aetna Better Health of Kentucky is offering a Youth Thrive training four times this year, with the next one on June 3, 2025. Registration: Youth Thrive. 

Child Food Insecurity in Kentucky

Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study remains the only research that offers detailed, local-level estimates of food insecurity and food costs for every county and congressional district in the U.S. The newly released 2025 edition, which analyzes data from 2023, sheds critical light on the state of child food insecurity in Kentucky — and the findings are deeply concerning.

As has been reported by Kentucky Kids Eat of Kentucky Feeding Kentucky, in 2023, an estimated 213,830 children in Kentucky — 21.1% of the state’s youth — experienced food insecurity, lacking consistent access to the nutrition they need for an active, healthy life. No county in Kentucky was exempt; every community had children struggling to get enough to eat.

But food insecurity means far more than an empty stomach — it touches every part of a child’s well-being:

• Children in food-insecure households are 30% more likely to be hospitalized.
• They experience higher rates of headaches, stomachaches, irritability, and aggression.
• Food-insecure teens are five times more likely to have attempted suicide than their food-secure peers.
• These children are more likely to miss school, arrive late, and face suspension — disrupting their education and future potential.

These statistics are not just numbers — they represent real children in our communities whose futures are being shaped by hunger. The findings from Map the Meal Gap 2025 are a call to action for everyone committed to the health and success of Kentucky’s children and youth.

Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children and Youth: A National Agenda, explores the gap between what we know about healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) development, and what we do. MEB is essential for children and youth to grow into thriving, contributing adults. A strong foundation in MEB health supports academic success, meaningful relationships, and long-term well-being.

Over the past decade, research has deepened the understanding of how to promote healthy MEB development—by supporting families and communities, fostering protective factors, and preventing or mitigating disorders. Despite this growing knowledge, the United States has yet to fully apply these insights. Risk factors for poor MEB outcomes remain widespread, and data show little to no progress in reducing them. The report outlines an evidence-informed vision to support MEB for the next decade. 

Celebrating Summer Meals!

Did you know that 8.1 million summer meals were served across Kentucky last year? That’s a 52% increase from 2023 — a powerful sign of growing community impact.

To build on this momentum, the Kentucky Farm to School Network is joining the Kentucky Department of Education, KY Dept. of Agriculture, Feeding Kentucky and others in the Kentucky Farm to Summer Meals Celebration Week, happening June 15–21, 2025. Summer meal programs offer a fantastic opportunity to connect children with fresh, local farm foods through fun, hands-on learning.

This year, they are encouraging Summer SUN meal sponsors to join in helping kids Sprout, Understand, and Nourish:

• Sprout – Inspire garden-based activities and curiosity about how food grows
• Understand – Support learning enrichment through food and farm education
• Nourish – Serve up the vibrant flavors of summer with fresh, local produce

To support participants, partners are developing a toolkit that will include:

• Resources and links for sourcing local foods
• Enrichment activities and educational guides
• Promotional materials and printables for meal distribution
• Outreach ideas to engage communities

Farmers and farmers markets can use the information to get involved — whether by supplying local foods, visiting meal sites, or hosting groups of kids on the farm or at the market.

Whether you’re passionate about educating the next generation, growing your customer base, or simply connecting with families in your community, summer meal programs are a great way for farms to make a difference.

These are links to register for Summer Meal Sponsors & Sites and Farmers and Farmers Markets.

Urgent Action Needed to Defend Medicaid

We know beyond doubt how important Medicaid is for child and youth development and wellbeing, as well as being vital for student learning. Kentucky currently has about 638,400 children enrolled in Medicaid or its companion Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Congress is proposing cuts to the federal Medicaid program, with enormous repercussions for Kentucky’s children. The following are links to several organizations that have prepared information and action steps to protect Medicaid for the health and wellbeing of Kentucky’s kids and their families.

Community Catalyst and Healthy Schools Campaign

Families USA

Urgent Action Needed to Defend SNAP

Another critically important program that may suffer very significant cuts at the federal level is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also affecting Kentucky’s children, families, schools and the economy (see the note in this newsletter about food insecurity for kids in Kentucky). The following is complete information and action steps to protect SNAP

Food Research and Action Center

Challengers to Kentucky’s vaping law dismiss federal lawsuit

$1 billion in federal cuts to programs that connect farmers, schools and food banks puts programs at risk

Kentucky to be among the hardest-hit states by proposed Medicaid changes

Medicaid Expansion Reduces Maternal Mortality: Medicaid Cuts Would Be Deadly for Mothers and Babies

Kentucky clinic treats child abuse (and tries to prevent it)

Eating disorders: It doesn’t just happen to skinny, white, affluent girls

JCPS task force won't meet in 2025. What Kentucky lawmakers are focused on instead

Kentucky Department for Public Health

Kentucky Family Thrive

Kentucky Department of Education

Kentucky Health Departments Association

Kentucky Nurses Association

Kentucky Primary Care Association

Kentucky Public Health Association

Kentucky Psychological Association 

Kentucky School Boards Association

Kentucky Voices for Health

Kentucky Youth Advocates

KY Parent Teacher Association – 16^th District

Playworks

Pritchard Committee for Academic Excellence

Seven Counties Services

Spalding University

St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Trans Parent Lex

United Healthcare

University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences

University of Louisville School of Public Health & Information Studies

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