Give for Good Louisville is Thursday, Sept 18!
Give for Good Louisville isn’t just a day to donate - it’s a moment that ignites kindness, fuels hope, and unites people of all ages to uplift our community.
For over a century, Metro United Way has served the Greater Louisville region, providing critical services to the most vulnerable in our community. Today, we have a new mission to lift 260,000 people in our region - those that need help the most - from hardship to hope by 2030.
At Metro United Way, we know that what policy has built, programming alone cannot transform. That’s why we advocate for policies that create lasting, systemic changes to address the root causes of social and economic disparities in our communities.
Both Kentucky and Indiana convened this year for their regular legislative sessions. Indiana legislators were tasked with passing a biennial budget while Kentucky held a short, non-budget session. However, similar themes emerged from both statehouses, including focuses on education reforms along with cultural and fiscal pressures.
It is essential to acknowledge that both states passed legislation that will significantly impede access to support systems for marginalized populations, ultimately creating more barriers to essential services for communities that rely on them.
Despite some of these losses, Metro United Way remains proud to work in coalition with partners across both states and celebrates the legislative progress that will help Kentuckians and Hoosiers across our Greater Louisville region.
Maternal health care access directly impacts outcomes for mothers and babies. Free-standing birth centers offer non-hospitalized care for low-risk pregnancies. House Bill 90 (Rep. Nemes) set licensing standards for these centers and exempted them from certificate-of-need rules, expanding access to lower-intervention birth options.
Paid parental leave leads to improved health outcomes and greater economic stability for families. Senate Bill 9 (Sen. Higdon) requires public school districts to provide at least 30 days of maternity leave by 2030. While this legislation sets a minimum requirement for leave, it is important to note that several school districts have already implemented more expansive policies, including parental leave for both parents.
Several pieces of legislation focused on zoning changes to increase the development of housing. House Bill 160 (Rep. Witten) mandates equal zoning treatment for manufactured homes, boosting affordable housing stock. Senate Bill 25 (Sen. Mills) enables local governments to issue industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) for multifamily housing projects with 48+ units. Both of these bills will help increase affordable housing development.
Legislative wins are often years in the making, requiring education and consensus building. We were glad to see introduction of the legislation highlighted below this session, and Metro United Way remains committed to continue socializing these policy solutions and building support among legislators and stakeholders.
House Bill 291, the Family Preservation and Accountability Act sponsored by Rep. Wilson, encourages alternative sentencing for caregivers convicted of non-violent felonies. House Bill 87 (Rep. Callaway) aimed to streamline second-chance hiring by allowing individuals to pre-check eligibility for public jobs and licenses. Both bills passed the House unanimously but stalled in the Senate. Additionally, House Bill 534 (Rep. Witten) would have sealed dismissed eviction records. These are all commonsense policy solutions that advocates will continue to push for in the future.
Two “YIGBY” (Yes In God’s Back Yard) bills were introduced that would allow religious institutions to build affordable housing on their property —Senate Bill 59 (Sen. Higdon) and House Bill 514 (Rep. Stalker). Additionally, House Bill 588 (Rep. Bratcher) sought to raise the real estate transaction fee to increase funding for the state’s affordable housing trust.
House Bill 622 (Rep. Petrie) would have streamlined payment and contracting processes for nonprofits working with the state, ensuring timely and efficient service delivery so that they can meet the needs of the people and communities they serve. This was passed by the General Assembly but was line-item vetoed by Governor Beshear.
In this year’s budget bill, House Bill 1001, Indiana saw modest early childhood funding cuts due to lowerthan-expected state revenues. Pre-K and child care programs received a 5% reduction, and annual funding for both the On My Way Pre-K program and child care subsidy (CCDF) state match was decreased. Still, $147M was preserved to protect care for current CCDF voucher recipients.
House Bill 1248 was a win that expanded access to child care by reserving 200 CCDF vouchers for children placed with licensed foster families. However, eligibility tightened for new state pre-K applicants. Additionally, the Indiana lawmakers introduced tax incentives for employer-sponsored child care and passed reforms to streamline licensing and expand pre-K partnerships, including with religious nonprofits.
Also included in HB 1001, lawmakers created a $25 million revolving loan fund to support housing development in communities with growthfriendly zoning. Senate Bill 142 simplified eviction expungement, improving stability for renters and easing landlords’ burden.
Though comprehensive paid family leave and child tax credit bills were not enacted in the Indiana Statehouse, Governor Braun issued an executive order expanding paid leave for state employees, signaling momentum for broader family policies in future sessions.
(March 17, 2025) We’re encouraged to see the General Assembly pass legislation allowing for free-standing birth centers in Kentucky. Free-standing birth centers offer a midwifery model of care that often leads to better outcomes for low-risk expecting partners with fewer medical interventions.
Metro United Way, in coalition with maternal health advocates in our region and throughout the state, has advocated for this expansion of maternal care options for several years. Free-standing birth centers maintain a safe and nurturing environment for mothers and babies which is critical to improving the state’s maternal mortality rate, especially among marginalized communities.
(March 4, 2025) We aspire for a community where meeting needs and achieving one’s full potential are not in any way predicated on identity, but the inherent right that every human has, allowing all to have barrier-free opportunities and experience the best possible outcomes: long lives, high quality of life, safety, and belonging.
Kentucky thrives when we embrace both unity and the rich history of diversity within our Commonwealth and our country. However, House Bill 4 will deepen divisions, stifle diverse perspectives, and put support for marginalized and underrepresented communities at risk—impacting not just them, but our entire economy.
To support and empower marginalized communities and increase opportunities for all, there will always be a need to evaluate and improve that work. We should all see this as an opportunity to strengthen what it means to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives is not an option if Kentucky wants to build an inclusive, equitable, and prosperous future and economy for all Kentuckians. We urge the Kentucky General Assembly to reject this polarizing legislation and safeguard the fundamental values that define us: united we stand, divided we fall.
(March 3, 2025) House Bill 87 takes a practical approach to eliminating barriers for Kentuckians with past convictions, allowing them greater access to careers in the public sector and licensed professions, and improving employment opportunities while re-entering the workforce. Metro United Way was excited to see this important measure pass the Kentucky House. A special thanks to Rep. Emily Callaway for championing this bill to support re-entry and strengthen Kentucky families.
(February 26, 2025) We applaud the Kentucky House for its passage of HB 291, the Family Preservation and Accountability Act, which seeks to keep families together and reduce incarceration rates.
This legislation would expand sentencing alternatives for caretakers who committed a non-violent felony offense. The court could require caretakers of a dependent child to participate in other programs — instead of jail time. This reduces harm to children by avoiding the separation from parents and offers a rehabilitative approach for their caretakers.
Children need a stable home life to thrive, and keeping families together is a key part of that. Thank you to Rep. Nick Wilson for his sponsorship of this bill.
We urge the Kentucky Senate to quickly take up and pass HB 291.