David Kelly

The leader of a prominent foster care reform group – who spent time as a child in foster care herself, a searing experience that she’s said shaped her work as a congressional policy adviser – has been appointed to a senior role in President Joe Biden’s administration, according to tweets and website updates today from her organization, Foster America.

Child welfare advocates in Minnesota are calling for the state to use some of its funds from the federal coronavirus relief bill to make direct payments to current and former foster youth who are transitioning to adulthood.

While millions of California residents have been pushed into financial peril under the crush of the coronavirus pandemic, new research shows that more than a quarter of the state’s former foster youth struggled with homelessness and housing instability well before the virus’ economic devastation hit. 

Moving swiftly to address a growing hunger crisis, the Biden administration on Friday announced several new efforts to put more for on the tables of Americans who’ve been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world watched with eager anticipation as power transitioned last week to President Joe Biden. The paths, priorities and policies he chooses will impact not just Americans, but citizens everywhere. Arguably, they will be felt most of all by our planet’s children.

Youth Advocate Programs, which in recent years has secured a high-quality research result and a big philanthropic bet, has now locked in a long-term succession plan within its ranks. 

The Harrisburg, Penn.-based

Newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is moving quickly to change how youth are prosecuted and held accountable for crimes – hiring a public defender to overhaul long-standing juvenile justice policies, ending the practice of trying children in adult court and halting the prosecution of truancy cases. 

Youth and young adults who are having a rough time overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic are targeted for help under a set of long-awaited initiatives announced this week by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.