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In the last few years, several episodes of violence and shocking police brutality have brought the fragility of black lives into the light of national media coverage. But at the same time, another important—and, perhaps, equally complicated—story is emerging: African Americans, and young black men in particular, are on average living much longer than they were just two decades ago. The decline in mortality has been especially dramatic among young African American children and teenagers. The...

Imagine this scenario: A young Muslim leaves home to travel to Syria to join ISIS. Thousands of young men from Europe have done exactly that in the past two years. But here's the twist: Imagine that just weeks after arriving, the young man realizes he's made a terrible mistake. What does he do now? If he's American, his options are few. Even attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS is considered providing support to a terrorist organization, a federal offense that carries a sentence of 10...

Black Americans See Gains in Life Expectancy - The New York Times It is a bitter but basic fact in health research: Black Americans die at higher rates than whites from most causes, including AIDS, heart disease, cancer and homicide. But a recent trove of federal data offered some good news. The suicide rate for black men declined from 1999 to 2014, making them the only racial group to experience a drop. Infant mortality is down by more than a fifth among blacks since the late 1990s, double...

On May 3, Partnership with Children hosted a panel discussion, “Poverty, The Brain and Mental Health: How Stress Affects Learning, and the Science Behind It,” in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH, Commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was joined by Partnership with Children Executive Director Margaret Crotty and other experts in the fields of neuroscience...

Since 1991, more than 200 students from at least 67 private schools across New England have accused teachers, administrators or other staff members of sexually abusing or harassing them, according to a report on Sunday by The Boston Globe’s Spotlight investigation team. These and other allegations, going back decades, include claims of rape, fondling, molestation and oral sex by trusted adults in positions of authority, including, in one case, an admissions officer. At least 90 lawsuits or...

It’s long been known that meditation helps children feel calmer, but new research is helping quantify its benefits for elementary school-age children. A 2015 study found that fourth- and fifth-grade students who participated in a four-month meditation program showed improvements in executive functions like cognitive control, working memory, cognitive flexibility — and better math grades. A study published recently in the journal Mindfulness found similar improvements in mathematics in fifth...

“Aging is not safe. Aging out leaves kids with sort of a lifetime of potential dire outcomes and loneliness," says Susan Grundberg, executive director and CEO of You Gotta Believe (YGB), a New York City nonprofit organization that focuses on finding permanent families for young adults, teens and preteens in foster care. The organization understands the important role permanent relationships can play when these young adults age out of care and face issues like homelessness and unemployment.

"What is to give light must endure burning." Viktor Frankl -- For trauma-focused education and treatment to be effective for the long haul, our teachers and other caring professionals will need to practice not only self-care but also to have regular access to supportive structures of peer support and reflective supervision within their organizations.

Accountability Starts Here, a program in Sebastian County that takes a holistic family therapy approach to juvenile mental health, is being recognized as a breakthrough in an "overwhelming" social problem. Lisa Albuja, the local therapist who created the program for Juvenile Judge Leigh Zuerker last year, says the multifaceted team-oriented program she calls "ASH" was born out of simple frustration. Albuja said she kept seeing juveniles "recycling" within various mental health and juvenile...

Editor's note: This is the first part of a four-part examination of the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church. Read more about the series here: "Hell, hope and healing." The past two decades have witnessed an interdisciplinary explosion of new information about the prevalence and aftermath of child abuse and neglect. From 1995 to 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente conducted a study of more than 17,000 Americans to determine how many had been...

Racial differences (white versus black and Hispanic) dominate whether looking at average or median net worth, and the gap grows as the head of the family ages. Median figures are especially sobering, showing the limited wealth generation of representative black and Hispanic heads of families regardless of age. So, do these advantages and disadvantages transfer to the next generation? Yes, and not just laterally. This second chart looks at the relationship between inheritance and wealth...

Much has been made recently of Detroit’s resurgence and growth. In January, President Obama made a swing through the Motor City, touting “ something special happening in Detroit. ” Yet the comeback has not been evenly felt across the city. The Michigan League for Public Policy’s 2016 Kids Count Data Profile revealed a major fault line earlier this year. From 2006 to 2014, child poverty in Detroit increased by 29 percent, to about 94,000 children or well more than half (57 percent) of the...