US: Pregnant women with substance use disorders need treatment, not prison (Commentary) STAT News - June 04, 2019 More than 210,000 women spent Mother's Day 2019 in America's prisons and jails. Two-thirds of them are mothers of young children; an unknown number are pregnant. Many of them have … [Read more...]

US: Capitol Hill Briefing Tomorrow on Counsel for Kids, Parents in Child Welfare Courts Chronicle of Social Change - June 03, 2019 A group of legislative caucuses on vulnerable youth and on legal issues are jointly offering a congressional briefing tomorrow on a hot topic of late in child welfare: … [Read more...]

US: Lesbian, Gay Youth at Higher Risk for Self-Harm HealthDay News - June 03, 2019 An alarming number of teens practice self-harm, but lesbian, gay and bisexual teens may be more than twice as likely as their straight peers to cut, hit or bruise themselves, new research … [Read more...]

US: Explainer: What's going on with faith-based adoption agencies? And what will happen next? (Commentary) Deseret News - June 02, 2019 Four years ago, the Supreme Court said LGBTQ couples could marry in every state. Did it also give them the right to adopt from any agency? That question plagues … [Read more...]

US: New Report Calls for Policies and Practices to Promote Positive Adolescent Development and Close the Opportunity Gap National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine - May 16, 2019 The changes in brain structure and connectivity that occur between the ages of 10 and 25 present … [Read more...]

Canada: 'Canadian Genocide': Report Seeks Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Global Citizen - June 03, 2019 After almost three years of gathering thousands of testimonies across Canada, the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its … [Read more...]

Finland: Child marriage ban takes effect in Finland Yle - June 01, 2019 Persons under the age of 18 may no longer be married in Finland, as the ban on the practice of special exemption came into effect on Saturday. Only persons aged 18 years or older may now be married. The Ministry of Justice has … [Read more...]

US: College Hunger No Laughing Matter: Part 1 of 2 (Includes audio) Public News Service - June 03, 2019 Jokes about starving college students relying on ramen noodles, rice and other cheap foods are no laughing matter, as recent research uncovers the broad scope of campus hunger. In a survey … [Read more...]

US: 18 and On Your Own: A New Way to Ease the Transition From Foster Care Governing - June 01, 2019 Aging out of the system brings tough challenges that states are trying to help young adults overcome. https://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-foster-care-transition.html … [Read more...]

US: Ethics Over Economics: Building a Better Adoption System Amid Baby 'Shortages' (Commentary) Rewire News - May 31, 2019 Advocating for ethical adoption practices does not mean denying the deep bonds of love that can form in adoptive families. But every adopted child deserves to grow up secure … [Read more...]