Santa Cruz County Families & Children Overview

As pandemic rules expire, safety-net gaps widen.

Officials aim to provide mental health services ‘hub’ in every high school in the county

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—A Pacific Collegiate School student and her friends are fighting for changes in the law after their friend and her brother were violently removed from their grandmother’s Santa Cruz home in October and taken to an undisclosed site …

WATSONVILLE—The United States Department of Agriculture is asking for community input as it updates its Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program for the first time since 2014. The changes include offering more nutritious food geared to meet a larger variety …

A boy whose death spurred a series of changes in Scotts Valley—with educators placing a renewed focus on combating bullying—was honored Feb. 3 in a lunchtime ceremony at Scotts Valley High School. Mateo Deihl, a freshman who died by suicide …

An update on the $100 million allotted to California schools to provide healthier meals

By Julie Horner A new book is available at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum: "When the Mission Bells Rang" by Dr. Judith Scott, illustrated by Lydia Gibson and in consultation with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Written for children as …

WATSONVILLE—Since the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of schools nationwide, education officials have been struggling to rebound from the significant—and unanticipated—academic and emotional toll at-home learning wrought on young people. Pajaro Valley Unified School District has since boosted its ranks …

The Supreme Court is keeping in place, for now, Title 42 — the pandemic policy that OK’d migrant expulsions. California has yet to figure out how to meet the needs of an influx of migrants when it does go away.

The Santa Cruz Gives organization is helping to increase the visibility of local LGBTQIA+ youth