Texas

Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, it’s no secret that parents are struggling — but startling new data reveals that many who turn to government programs for help in the nation’s most populous state can’t access essential resources like health care and fresh food.

A federal judge on Wednesday gave final approval to a settlement with Arizona that puts an end to a six-year legal battle over the foster care system, but not before hearing from skeptics about whether the state will be able to keep its promises to some of society’s most vulnerable youngsters.

Like many families served by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, Margie Roman — a longtime employee of the child welfare agency — stepped up to raise her three granddaughters when the girls needed a stable home.

Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin are the last three states that still view all 17-year-olds as adults in the eyes of the law, and proposals are moving through each of their legislatures that would raise the minimum age to 18 except for the most violent crimes.

For many Texans, their family, friends and neighbors came through during this month’s winter storms and the catastrophes that followed. These were support systems that literally saved lives and provided comfort and light in dark moments.

The Biden administration has begun to fill in some of the key leadership posts that do not require Senate confirmation at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the large division of the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees child welfare and many federal assistance programs for low-income families. 

Since last March, judges and lawyers in youth and family courts across New York state have been scrambling, like judicial officers around the country, to keep their cases moving along on virtual platforms.

The much-anticipated relief fund to help current and former foster youth amid the COVID-19 pandemic has gone out to state agencies, which will receive a proportionate share of the $400 million approved by Congress as part of the deal signed by former President Donald Trump in December.

Michael Ambrose Sr., a longtime official at the U.S. Children’s Bureau, was remembered in Washington, D.C., earlier this month as a man who had trekked to many of the nation’s great physical heights in search of adventure, yet remained decidedly down to earth during his 82 years.