Coronavirus

L.A. County's [email protected] program provides vulnerable youth ages 14 to 24 with their first paid work experience as the economy re-opens.

Virtual hearings may have been a necessary precaution for the past 14 months because of the pandemic, but a new report from the National Juvenile Defender Center says they take a toll on the legal rights of juvenile defendants and should not remain a normal practice once it’s safe to gather in court again.

A federal judge in Washington has struck down a national policy that prevented countless evictions during the coronavirus pandemic – a move that advocates worry could push vulnerable families and youth into homelessness, and potentially into the foster care system as well.

In addition to growing struggles with homelessness, foster youth are concerned about the debt they'll be left with post-pandemic.

Eight states are getting together for the rest of 2021 to work out the best way to help children and families weather the second year of the coronavirus pandemic with a minimum of child neglect and abuse.

Many of Arizona’s current and former youth are in line for more federal help to get them through the pandemic, the state Department of Child Safety has announced. The change means young adults currently in foster care and former foster youth who have not yet turned 27 years old will be able to tap funds made available under a law Congress passed in December, the COVID-19 Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020.

After a long year of fear, loss and traumatic uncertainty, the availability of vaccines protecting against COVID-19 is a welcome, necessary relief. Health care workers, teachers and the elderly have been rightly prioritized for access, but many vulnerable people are still waiting for eligibility.

California foster parents are getting some long-awaited relief in the form of priority eligibility for coronavirus vaccines. The most populous state appears to be leading the nation in offering vaccines to these caregivers: Across the country in New York, foster parents have yet to be prioritized, and there are few indications that they are being prioritized elsewhere.