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Washington, DC “On Tuesday, President Donald Trump found a way to shut down the popular program that protects young undocumented immigrants from deportation while deflecting the full blast of the political heat for his move from immigrants’ rights groups, Latinos and their many allies in businesses and universities. In a decision announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions — not by the president — Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to rescind a policy memorandum from 2012 that...

Atlanta, GA “A report released this morning examines the rise of school-based police officers, their latitude in deciding whether to send students to the principal’s office or juvenile court and the consequences to girls of color. Today, police officers — known as school resource officers or SROs — are common in public schools. Nationwide, there are more than 19,000 officers in schools, up from about 100 in the 1970s, according to the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and the...

Washington, DC "Thirty percent (127,819) of children in foster care are being raised by grandparents or other relatives, a six percent increase since 2008. In the wake of the opioid epidemic, that number is even more dramatic in the states hardest hit by the opioid epidemic like Ohio, which saw a 62 percent increase in the number of children placed with relatives in foster care since 2010. For each child in foster care with a relative, there are 20 children outside of the system with a...

Here in California, many people think that it’s only liberal Democrats who have a corner on championing the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and putting it into practice. That might be because people who use ACEs science don’t expel or suspend students, even if they’re throwing chairs and hurling expletives at the teacher. They ask "What happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?" as a frame when they create juvenile detention centers where kids don’t fight, reduce...

Hubbard County, MN Christina Day, Hubbard County Jail Programs Coordinator is finding success with new support groups, classes and programs in the correctional facility as well as stronger support systems outside the facility. “Day and her team of volunteers are proponents of the power of positivity, empowering people to set goals, believe in themselves and make better choices.” “That's where I feel our role, as far as myself and the other volunteers and instructors that come in and even...

Self-care is not easy. Self-care during a crisis can be impossible. I am the "rock" in my family. Which means I am the one who ensures toilet paper is well stocked, healthy foods are stocked (especially before big tests), everyone gets transported safely where they need to go, and I am the one who consciously works to empower and support. I often picture myself as a giant pitcher of water, filling everyone's cup, even before they are thirsty. However, eventually my pitcher empties, and it is...

As research shows an increasingly powerful correlation between childhood trauma and addiction, incarceration and even early death, a new legislative panel is trying to improve the state’s response to the issue. It’s been nearly 20 years since a landmark study quantified the long-term impact of childhood traumas, but not everybody thinks the social science has gotten the spotlight it deserves. “Bottom line, what we’re trying to do is help spread the word so more people know about this, and we...

They're the faces of children: The 17-year-old sniper with the delicate features and sad, boyish look who took part in a deadly shooting spree that terrorized the nation's capital. The chubby-faced 14-year-old with tears streaming down his cheeks after he was sentenced to life in prison for stomping to death a 6-year-old girl when he was only 12. As their crimes and their youth shocked the country, the cases of Lee Malvo and Lionel Tate also renewed a debate that for many years has been...

Like many high school graduates in Brazil, Caroline was eager to find a job. She desperately needed money to continue her studies and pursue her dream of becoming an engineer. But two years after graduating, she was still unemployed. Caroline eventually managed to improve her job prospects in an unlikely way—through drawing, dance and breath work. Intent on breaking free from a family history of women who weren’t able to get good jobs or finish high school, Caroline discovered a job training...

September opens with both an annual observation of National Childhood Obesity Month, as well as an urgent call by healthcare professionals across the nation to reduce the increase of overweight and obese Black children – which are at critically high numbers. Some data, including that offered by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust of America’s Health, cite both an overall increase in overweight and obesity rates among Black children and faster and earlier rates of severe weight...

"We had a parent go by and check on the chickens. They were fine and Wilson the cat was ok too! I know many people are concerned. What a wonderful community we have." For the staff of Wilson Montessori, a public pre-K-8 school in Houston, the days after Harvey meant tracking down members of the community via text, collecting donations for those in need — and reassuring students about the fate of the school's pets. Belva Parrish, the counselor at Wilson and a 25-year veteran of Houston's...

“I did not raise you to cry,” my father would say when I fell off my bike, as he poured rubbing alcohol on my bloody 6-year-old knees. Not hydrogen peroxide — alcohol. Whenever I cried, which was usually when I did not get an A on a math test or saw a lost-dog poster or read about Anne Frank, my parents, immigrants from Ecuador, handed me a mirror to observe myself. They wanted to desensitize me to my own tears, to line my small heart with bulletproof glass, even if doing so meant making me...