Our Mission
We are the independent voice for Kentucky's children.
Our Vision
Kentucky: The best place in America for children and youth.
History
Kentucky Youth Advocates was founded in 1975 by a group of citizens who came together over concerns about the care of abused and neglected children and delinquent youth in the custody of the state. KYA incorporated and hired staff in 1977. Four goals guided our work in the first 16 years:
- Support adequate programming for children who are in need of protection from abuse and neglect
- Assure that each neglected and abused child secures a permanent home
- Assure that delinquent children and those with emotional problems receive effective and humane treatment
- Prevent the unnecessary jailing and detention of youth and secure adequate remedial services for these youth.
Two additional goals were adopted in 1983 as we saw additional needs for vulnerable children in the areas of health care and education:
- Support programs which provided proper prenatal and early childhood service for mothers and children
- Assure that the educational system is responsive to the needs and rights of vulnerable children by helping children, their parents, and other citizens.
KYA history in the area of Child Protection
1978 — Conducted an independent study of foster care in Kentucky.
1978 — Advocated for local foster care review boards.
1980 — Helped litigate the expeditious adoption of children.
1982 — Recommended changes in the state's adoption process in So Much for So Little: A Legislative Guide for Reforming Kentucky's Adoption Programs and Unfinished Commitment: The Remaining Challenges of Special Adoptions. Also produced a "photolisting" of children awaiting adoption.
1983 — Put a "human face" on the dangers of the foster care system by documenting the Eugene D. case, an eight-year-old child who had been in foster care for seven years and weighed only 19 pounds.
1984 — Recommended a "family focused" system of care with two reports, Kentucky's Children: A Critical Moment, and There's No Place Like Home. Legal delays in the adoption process were documented in Waiting and Wondering.
1985 — Alerted the state of how to secure more federal child protective services funds.
1986 — Alerted the public to the shortage of protective services social workers.
1990 — Documented that local and state officials were not responding to child sexual abuse cases.
1991 — Evaluated Kentucky's new family-focused programs with our report, Turning Promise Into Practice.
1992 — Advocated and assisted in developing a comprehensive state plan to address child sexual abuse.
1992 — Recommended ways to hold public officials accountable in child sexual abuse proceedings.
1992 — Documented the research on the credibility of child witnesses in child sexual abuse actions.
1992 — Estimated Kentucky's economic costs of child sexual abuse.
1995 — a statewide hot-line investigation conducted by the Cabinet for Families and Children resulted in the report Where the Rubber Meets the Road.
2001 — Published Warning Signs: A Look at Child Protective Services in Kentucky which resulted in policy changes within the Cabinet for Families and Children.