children-and-youth

A child, wearing a pink Strawberry shortcake shirt, sits on a chair with their eyes positioned in front of a metal Phoropter during an eye exam.

Health

California kids are going without vision care, and the problem is getting worse

Nearly every California county saw a drop in children's eye exams over the past decade, a new report finds.

By

Kristen Hwang

• April 2, 2026

Rear view of a teenage boy sitting on bed as they look out a window.

Commentary

California shouldn’t bail out beleaguered foster family agencies

Agencies that put kids in foster homes sought $30 million for insurance, because abuse victims have won multimillion-dollar lawsuits against them.

By Richard Wexler • March 30, 2026

A side view of a man on a bike next to homeless tents lined up along a sidewalk underneath a highway in Sacramento.

Commentary

Kids with no safe place to rest at night are becoming chronically homeless adults

Only 3% of the state’s homeless beds are reserved for youth, which feeds a pipeline to chronic homelessness. Most vulnerable: foster kids.

By Jevon Wilkes • March 23, 2026

A large blue LED sign with the words "Rady Children's" illuminates at the top of a glass building during a dusk evening.

Health

San Diego families file civil rights suit over cutoff of transgender care at children’s hospital

Rady Children’s Hospital announced in January that it would no longer perform gender affirming care for minors.

By

Kristen Hwang

• March 19, 2026

A person wearing a colorful ascot and a flannel shirt on a city street, looking off to the side, with trees and buildings along a busy city street softly blurred in the background.

Justice

Teens walked out of school to protest ICE. Police are investigating the adults who helped them

High school students all over California walked out of class in protest over the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. Police in two cities, conservative Clovis and liberal Los Angeles, issued warnings about potential arrests to adults who helped them.

By

Nigel Duara

• March 17, 2026

A view of four silhouettes, three people and one child, seen through a fence with another chain-linked fence and brick wall in the background. The silhouettes are all walking in one direction towards the right side of the frame, with the fence distorting the view of the frame.

Commentary

I crossed the border alone as a child. Here’s what I learned about family separation

To understand what mass deportations are really about, we must examine the systems that have long separated families of color across the Americas.

By Skye Harris • March 12, 2026

Two people holding a baby close to them in an embrace as they pose for a photo in the backyard area of a home. The background is a grassy hill behind rows of fences.

Justice

California’s foster care system is buckling under the weight of this unexpected cost

Critical infrastructure that holds up California’s foster care system is quietly collapsing in the wake of sex abuse lawsuits, leaving children at risk.

By

Cayla Mihalovich

• March 11, 2026