Three cases down and a dozen more to go, Judge William Voy surveys the movement below his bench on a Monday afternoon. The fourth defendant on his calendar, a 13-year-old boy, enters from a side door connecting Family Court to the juvenile detention center. He’s no stranger to Courtroom 18.
Notions of personal failure and our collective ignorance of what it’s like to live on $8.60 a day help explain why 20 states have not covered the very poorest, and why Medicaid as we know it could disappear.
I experienced a crushing failure as an investigative reporter that I hope none of you ever have to experience. But I learned some important lessons along the way, including the need to focus my questions, narrow the scope, and embrace imperfect data.
The neglect in their home countries, the journey and the adjustment have caused deep scars in unaccompanied minors from Central America that fled to the United States. The goal for these kids now is to overcome their emotional issues so they can lead healthy and productive adult lives.
Unaccompanied minors from Central America made headlines in 2014 after crossing the USA-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers. Presently, many live in North Texas with parents or guardians. Samuel, a young man age 16, arrived alone trying to avoid the gangs or "maras" in Honduras.
For years, it hasn't been a mystery that unaccompanied children or the so called "children of the border" have crossed the limits of their own countries, gone through Mexico and stepped in the country that represents an escape from their reality and problems: The United States of America.
Proponents of baby courts argue that the traditional system is in crisis. They say the law is in some ways too quick to intervene with parents accused of neglect and abuse. Yet at the same time, they say, the legal system gives families too little attention when it comes to needed services.
The Mental Health Transition Team works with parents and psychiatric hospitals to develop re-entry plans, which could include designating a staff member the child feels comfortable checking in with every day and strategies so students don’t fall behind in school.
“The Raising of America” lays out the emerging science of early childhood, profiles families struggling to support their kids and make ends meet and argues for national policies that do more to support overstretched families with young children.
We're happy to announce today that we have a new name and a new look. Our program is now known as the Center for Health Journalism, which better reflects our expanded range of programs and goals.
