Although California has banned suspensions for “willful defiance” in grades K-12, both Elk Grove Unified and Sacramento City Unified school districts continued to suspend students for defiance during the 2023-24 school year, according to an OBSERVER analysis. The issue has gained new relevance as federal policies under the Trump administration threaten funding for schools that implement equity-based discipline practices.
Transracial adoption remains a complex and often debated subject, one that experts Bryan Post and Rhonda Roorda are tackling head-on.
Victor Malin Jr. endured foster care, trauma, and prison. Now he mentors youth and leads community programs to stop others from following the same path.
Black court-appointed special advocates in Sacramento work to support foster youth, especially Black teens, amid system flaws, racial disparities, and a lack of advocates.
Malachi, raised by his grandmother after a troubled childhood, now advocates for foster youth. Kinship care and family-first approaches are helping reform child welfare systems.
A journalist examines the child welfare system’s racial disparities, its generational impact on Black families, and community solutions amid funding cuts and the need for reforms.
Residentes de un parque de casas móviles en Hughson enfrentan contaminación del agua con nitratos y uranio, sin acceso seguro ni soluciones inmediatas pese a advertencias estatales.
Private foster care and adoption agencies in Texas are brokering contracts for moms to turn over their children in a murky legal world, spawning protracted civil custody battles.
For many young people, peer support can be the first step to accessing effective mental health care.
Federal policy upheavals and massive budget cuts are poised to make dental health worse, but the issue gets scant attention in the media.
