Children-and-youth

As California confronts what another four years under President Donald Trump means, Gen Z should respond not with exasperation but courage to lead.

Finally, California is enacting laws to protect children from social media addiction and the harms of smartphones. It's a welcome sign for many families that have endured tragedy or hardship.

Certain synthetic food dyes are linked to behavioral issues in kids. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to ban them in school snacks by 2028.

Dozens of California hospitals shut their maternity wards over the past decade, and the trend continued in 2024 after lawmakers advanced plans to slow the closures.

Birth centers are popular options for families who want to deliver a baby outside of a hospital. Nineteen of them closed in California in the past decade, deepening the state's maternity care crisis.

California child welfare agencies must investigate claims of Native American ancestry before separating a family, the California Supreme Court stressed in a new ruling that affects several contested cases.

The federal government is clawing huge amounts of unused pandemic benefits for hungry kids in California. The new summer EBT program aims to overcome past failures, but cards have a shorter shelf life.

Too few trees at California’s schools mean there’s little protecting students from a warming planet. Here’s how advocates say the state can pay for more shade.

For years, California has supported diaper banks. But with the funding set to expire and the state facing a massive budget deficit, an Orange County service provider is calling on California leaders to honor their commitment to families.

Many young Californians aren't properly taught about periods and feel isolated without a trusted source of information. A bill that would update a 2016 law to include age-appropriate facts about menstruation in sex education has garnered wide support, especially from teens.