Children & Families

It's those first 1,000 days — from conception until a child's second birthday — that the brain most needs the right mix of nutrients to fully form. But programs that focus on such developmental goals are now at risk.

In Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 for per capita female incarceration, kids were going missing from school because their mothers were locked up in county jail. "This was the most complicated story I’ve ever done," writes 2016 National Fellow Cary Aspinwall.

The Carribean children left behind after parents migrate can suffer from depression, low self-esteem and feelings of abandonment. Such feelings can lead to problems in school and leave kids vulnerable to abuse.

In Indian Country, generational poverty, poor schools and a lack of health care all contribute to chronically high rates of stress during childhood.

One writer shares her story of how the health care system missed repeated warning signs of preeclampsia while giving birth to her daughter. She later found her medical record was rife with mistakes and omissions.

As Portland, Oregon is hit with some of the fastest rising rents in the country due to housing scarcity, children are paying a price in little-noticed ways.

More than a third of children with special needs rely entirely on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program for their care. Cuts to Medicaid funding could prove disastrous for such families.

California has been particuarly aggressive in its data-driven effort to curb high C-section rates at hospitals throughout the state. The results from early pilot projects have been promising.

Boston-based nonprofit EMPath combines personal mentoring with brain science to equip low-income families with tools to deal with the economic and social stress that comes with poverty.