Experts will discuss changes to federal safety-net programs during a series of upcoming Kentucky Thrive Roadshow events aimed at community professionals.
The events will cover updates to work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — Medicaid, federal budget cost-shifting, and how recent federal decisions could affect Kentucky residents.
Federal housing program policies and eligibility requirements also have changed significantly in recent years, said Adrienne Bush, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky.
The roadshows are “really trying to examine what are the overall effects of changes to safety-net programs, but then what are the specifics that people may be running into, or that we can kind of share with folks as a heads up,” Bush said.
Upcoming events are scheduled for June 9 in Louisville, July 14 in Corbin and Aug. 18 in Bowling Green. Fall dates are available at kyvoicesforhealth.org.
Dustin Pugel, policy director at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, said the roadshows are intended for people who interact with households daily.
“Our audience is primarily people who work in the front lines, so nurses, receptionists, community health workers, social workers, librarians, you name it,” Pugel said. “Occasionally, some educators and clergy, too. So it just kind of depends on the community we’re in.”
According to the center, more than 500,000 Kentuckians relied on SNAP to help keep food on the table in February of last year, and one in three residents rely on Medicaid or the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program for coverage.
