Annual rally for Kentucky kids sets high momentum for child welfare

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Children’s Advocacy Week is dedicated to shining a light on Kentucky kids and looking ahead to how the leaders of today can make a way for the leaders of tomorrow.

The Capitol rotunda was filled with state leaders, kids, and advocates on Wednesday for the 2025 Rally for Kentucky Kids. The rally started and ended with a lot of energy, and Kentucky Youth Advocates executive director Dr. Terry Brooks said that’s the momentum he wants state leaders to have when it comes to Kentucky kids.

“It’s such an important moment because there’s so many important bills on the table. These are issues that would affect kids around abuse and neglect, around homelessness, around health and economic well-being,” Brooks said.

That well-being is the theme of Children’s Advocacy Week, which has a mix of both in-person and virtual events. The rally featured speakers, two of which were Caden Dunn and Aleah Stigall, who are both members of the Health Youth Ambassadors program at Kentucky Youth Advocates. Both are also high school students from Warren County and Boyle County, respectively.

“It makes me happy to know my voice is being heard, and the voices of my peers are being heard. A lot of time, children are overlooked, and they’re seen as immature or not educated enough to make sound decisions. I’d like the media to know that we are educated enough, we’re smart enough, and we deserve to have a voice on the national stage,” Dunn said.

“Finding a passion, learning how to advocate, and join different groups like KYA to teach advocacy skills and invite you to opportunities such as this one is a great start, and a great pathway to really get your voice heard,” Stigall added.

Tyler Hunter is a child welfare consultant, and his passion for child welfare brings him to events like this each time.

“It’s just heartwarming. This is personal for me growing up in foster care and being a national child welfare leader myself. To see so many people come together and want to know about the issues in child welfare and want to identify ways to mitigate challenges for at-risk youth and their families,” Hunter said.

Brooks said this comes at a time where decisions are being made that will impact all Kentucky kids, and that’s why the goal is to be as loud as possible for the kids.

“We pull together voices from 120 counties in Frankfort to say to lawmakers, we know you have a lot of priorities, but none can be more important than Kentucky’s kids,” Brooks said.

More information on Kentucky Youth Advocates can be found at the Kentucky Youth Advocates website.