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Heritage Children Services Home Resource Coordinator Jessy Jefferson says Kentucky, and the nation as a whole, is seeing a major shortage in available foster homes, with numbers down nearly 50 percent from last year.

“These kids need safe places, and when these kids suffer, all of our community suffers,” Jefferson says. “They need to be somewhere safe where someone can guide them, give them direction, where they can get services, where they can get therapy, because we do therapeutic foster care here.”

Jefferson says some potential foster parents are afraid they will be largely on their own taking care of children in need. She says in addition to covering training for foster parents, there are multiple systems of support in place.

“These kids get free medical from the state,” Jefferson says. “They get free therapy services. We give money to help take care of them, to take care of their basic everyday needs. There’s just tons of support that already sets you up for success.”

Jefferson says if you are unable to provide a foster home space at this time, you can still support children in need by helping to spread the word.

“We really just need people,” Jefferson says. “Even if you can’t be a foster parent, if you’ve got a business, partner with us so that we can get the word out. We can do an event, set up something where you’re at, I can bring some stuff to hand out, give people information. These kids need us. They really do. If you have a church, we’ll partner with you. I want to partner with law enforcement.”

Learn more by contacting Heritage Children Services in Elizabethtown at 270-506-3766 or by visiting www.heritagechildrenservices.com.

The Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis has created “an effective program that was transparent and fair to all licensure applicants” according to an independent review.

The Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet’s Office of the Inspector General on Thursday published findings from their independent review of the OMC. According to a release from the FAC,  the review “included the review of statutes and regulations, numerous reports, system data, policies and processes, videos, licensure applications, legislative testimony, and in-person interviews of personnel directly involved with the licensing process.” The OMC requested the inspector general’s review after the Kentucky State Auditor’s office requested a preliminary assessment in April 2025.

The inspector general’s office reported that the OMC “issued medical cannabis licensing and application regulations in a transparent manner that went through a public comment process during which OMC responded to each comment.” Multiple legislative committees reviewed and approved the regulations after multiple hearings with public comments periods.

The FAC says the OMC reviewed applications to ensure requirements were met and provided applicants with the opportunity to fix any identified issues. Applications that met the requirements were entered into a random drawing conducted live by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation.

The auditor’s report is pending. The inspector general’s report can be found on the Finance and Administration Cabinet’s website.

March unemployment in Kentucky is down slightly from the previous year.

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state unemployment average for March was 4.2 percent. That is the same as the average reported in February, and down .5 percent from the March 2025 average of 4.7 percent.

Kentucky’s unemployment average for March came in under the national unemployment rate, which the U.S. Department of Labor says at 4.3 percent is up from the 4.2 percent rate reported in March 2025.

The Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet says the state’s civilian labor force, which includes people currently employed and people actively searching for work, saw a decrease of 5,171 people from February to March, bringing the total civilian labor force to 2,103,495 people.

The Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Construction, Other Services, Leisure and Hospitality, Government, and Professional and Business Services sectors saw increases from February to March. Numbers were unchanged in the Information Services and Mining and Logging sectors. Numbers saw a decrease in the Financial Activities, Educational and Health Services, and Manufacturing sectors.

Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics website, kystats.ky.gov, for more about unemployment figures and labor market information.