Thriving Kids
There’s nothing more important than ensuring our community’s children have what they need to thrive.
- Ensure access to prenatal care that addresses disparities in birth outcomes and maternal health
- Increase availability of high-quality, affordable care, early childhood learning opportunities, and individualized support for families
- Enhance accessibility to out-of-school time programming, academic support, and interventions for youth and families to ensure they are connected to their community
Strong Households
When families have what they need, they can break cycles of poverty and work toward a better tomorrow for future generations and our entire community.
- Advocate for greater access to safe, affordable, and stable housing across all income levels
- Ensure households have the resources they need to not only achieve safety and stability, but to thrive and improve their economic mobility
- Provide the framework and support for social service organizations so that they have resources to provide quality, timely care to the community members they serve
Equitable Community
We envision the Greater Louisville region as a place where zip code doesn’t determine destiny and everyone has the opportunity to grow into their full potential.
- Implement equitable, common sense criminal justice reforms that limit at-risk individuals’ contact with the justice system and promote successful reentry for those who are justice involved
- Address the history of structural and institutional policies that disproportionately affect marginalized communities and perpetuate cycles of generational poverty
- Promote civic and voter engagement to ensure that all voices are heard in the decision-making processes that shape our shared future
Nonprofit Sector
Empowering nonprofits is crucial to their ability to meet critical needs and solve our community’s most pressing challenges.
- Promote tax policies that fuel community solutions through nonprofits and encourage philanthropic giving
- Support laws and executive actions that help build stronger communities by strengthening the nonprofit sector and its workforce
Kentucky’s 2025 Legislative Session Updates
Statement on Free-Standing Birth Centers
(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.
Statement on House Bill 4
(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.
Statement on House Bill 87
(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.
Statement on the Family Preservation and Accountability Act – House Bill 291
(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.
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January 28, 2025 - PUBLIC STATEMENT
We are deeply concerned about the recent announcement issuing a pause in federal financial funding, which will have an immediate and devastating impact on vulnerable individuals in our community, the nonprofits dedicated to serving them every day, and to state and local governments providing social services and safety net programs, along with capital and transportation projects.
Nonprofits play a vital role in fostering resilience and opportunity, often in partnership with state and local governments. Sudden and unclear changes jeopardize not only their operations but also the well-being of countless individuals and families.
We urge our elected leaders to engage in open dialogue with those affected, and consider the far-reaching consequences of this decision. Together, we must work toward solutions that ensure stability and support for the communities that need it most.
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