children-and-youth

A person wearing a face mask and medical scrubs stands next to a sign with an eye exam on it in the hallway of a medical facility. In the foreground, a young person in overalls faces the eye exam with a hand over their right eye.

The problem is clear: Medi-Cal is failing to protect children’s eyesight

Poor children are struggling at school because of undetected and uncorrected vision problems. Medi-Cal has been neglecting vision care.

By Dr. Brian Park and Ted Lempert • 2 月 20, 2026

Students hang out at the Shop 55 Wellness Center at Oakland High School in Oakland on May 10, 2024. Oakland High is able to offer a variety of medical services to students through the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP). Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters

Community schools are key ingredient of California’s tumbling crime rates

Community schools are becoming neighborhood hubs by prioritizing academics, youth and family services, mental health and restorative justice.

By Castle Redmond and John H. Jackson • 2 月 17, 2026

A person in a grey sweatshirt is placing a cellphone into a dark grey packet on a table in a classroom. Behind the person is a group of students and adults standing around, talking and holding their cell phone packets.

Reader Reactions

California schools that ban cellphones make students want them more

Punishing all for the noncompliance of a few breeds resentment. Schools should confiscate phones from students who repeatedly offend.

By Evelyn Thill • 2 月 13, 2026

An empty classroom for Pre-K and kindergarten students in Burnt Ranch on December 13, 2019. Dave Woody for CalMatters

教育

Child care in California was already hard to find — the immigration crackdown has made it worse

In California, almost 40% of the workforce is foreign-born and more than a million parents — immigrant and otherwise — rely on child care providers so they can go to work.

经过

卡罗琳·琼斯

• 2 月 2, 2026

A newborn’s small hand gently curls around an adult’s finger, with a soft hospital blanket and the infant’s arm blurred in the background.

California neglects its private duty nurses and fails its sick children

Hundreds of California children are stuck in hospitals because their families wait months or years for private nursing care they’re legally entitled to.

By Jarrod DePriest • 1 月 30, 2026

Cars drive through an intersection as they pass a donut shop with a giant donut structure on top of the building.

Californian mourns a childhood friend lost in a changing community

The Inglewood that raised Mike and Joshua has been gentrified. But a cemetery preserves Mike's grave and the memories of their childhood together.

By Joshua Hernandez • 1 月 15, 2026

2024 年 4 月 9 日，弗雷斯诺一家超市里堆满了玉米饼包装。照片由 Larry Valenzuela、CalMatters/CatchLight Local 拍摄

健康

A new California law requires tortillas to include an extra ingredient. Here’s why

Starting in 2026, California tortillas will contain folic acid to help prevent birth defects—a change aimed at closing a gap for Latina mothers.

经过

安娜·B·伊瓦拉

• 12 月 26, 2025

A view of two silhouettes of students walking through a dark hallway of a school with light shining through a doorway at the end of the hallway. One silhouette holds a lunch box and a water bottle in one hand.

California’s schools can’t afford to cut counselors. They keep kids alive in dangerous times

With suicide and violence stalking students, counselors are often the first to notice kids in trouble. They're also among the first to lose their jobs to budget cuts.

By Ayo Banjo • 12 月 9, 2025

Two people sit across from each other at an outdoor table on a college campus, talking quietly. Leaves are scattered on the ground, and a brick archway and greenery appear in the background. Another person sits further behind them, partially visible.

California’s rural youth struggle alone with mental health. Their peers could learn to help them

Suicide is 50% higher among rural young people than among others in urban or suburban environments. Many also live too far to get counseling.

By Alonzia Quinn • 11 月 19, 2025

Painted letters and numbers on the asphalt of a school as the feet and shadows of young children can be seen in the background.

California’s early intervention for youngsters with special needs is a lifeline — hanging by a thread

Federal cuts to Medicaid will mean fewer slots, longer waits and fewer therapists at Early Start, a program for children and babies with special needs.

By Kelly Keck • 11 月 17, 2025

Children-and-youth