San Joaquin County Families & Children Articles

A bill from a member of the Legislature’s happiness committee would require schools to come up with homework policies that consider the mental and physical strain on students.

The state is considering zeroing out funds for CalWORKS family stabilization and job subsidy programs to help balance the budget.

More frequent outdoor breaks can improve student attention, reduce behavior problems. Over the last decade, a growing list of U.S. states—including Missouri, Florida and New Jersey—have mandated daily recess. California joined the trend in late 2023.

Home to the state capital, Sacramento County offers many amusements for visitors and locals alike. But only some require no cash outlay.

Lawmakers in California and other states are now making attempts to prevent the reported harms to children caused by social media platforms. The U.S. Senate got into the act as well, at a dramatic Jan. 31 hearing.

Undocumented Californians are leaving health care clinics with “smiles” after they learn they’re newly eligible for Medi-Cal insurance. The health insurance expansion was decades in the making for immigrant advocates.

California is modernizing how it pays health care providers through Medi-Cal. Some mental health providers say the changes endanger their services.

Local officials counted on the state’s Homekey program to convert hotel rooms. But now a major developer has defaulted on loans and the state housing department is investigating.

The California food banks association warns of rising food insecurity, but its pleas for more state aid face a tough slog next year due to the projected budget deficit, as a federal program to help people get enough food is …

End Poverty in California, a nonprofit founded by former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, has been on a listening tour of the Golden State since early 2022.

Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County CEO Erica Padilla-Chavez looks at food insecurity as a symptom of an underlying disorder—one that can be cured.

Hospitals all over California are closing their maternity wards, including in dense cities like Los Angeles and in more remote communities in the Sierra Nevada.

KQED has spent more than three years reporting on how reparations could work in California. This series looks at the nuanced work that could be needed.

Black women are three times more likely than any other women to die during or immediately after pregnancy. California passed a 2019 law requiring hospitals to train labor and delivery staff on bias in medicine.

California’s poverty rate climbed and its working poor grew this spring, says the Public Policy Institute of California. Safety net programs played a major role in poverty rate changes.

More than 30 states require insurers to provide some level of coverage for kids’ hearing aids. California isn’t one of them, and Gov. Newsom for the second time has vetoed a bill to close that gap.

States across the United States are banning the practice of billing kids for the cost of their foster care. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar effort in California, citing costs to the state.

More workers are filing claims with the state alleging employers are retaliating against them for engaging in legally protected activities, such as seeking overtime pay or reporting wage theft or discrimination.

Under a system that has long prioritized local control for school districts. state officials now are fighting some recent board decisions regarding LGBTQ students.

Renter protections and eviction bans put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic have expired. By keeping them in place, California could slow the spread of homelessness. But that's not happening.