For many months now, the Star Tribune’s intrepid reporter Brandon Stahl has been researching and writing about the depth and scope of problems facing MN’s abused and neglected children. This page is dedicated to Brandon’s work...
We are now number one in child homelessness; one in thirty kids – 2.5 million American children , experienced homelessness last year. Many states don’t offer children insurance, Crisis nurseries, daycare, prenatal care, or...
A full day of events in Chicago on November 13 formally launched the Kennedy Forum Illinois , bringing together elected officials, civic and philanthropic leaders, educators, mental health experts, researchers and advocates—all focused on how to...
Lots of things can trigger an asthma attack, but one of the most common causes is odor – anything from the heavy scent of perfume to a household cleaner. Sondra Justice is a 60-year-old retired postal worker from Philadelphia, and for...
The mural on the wall outside of Chandramani Jani’s home is more message than art. It depicts a sari-clad woman relieving herself behind a bush, looking worried as a man advances. A large thought bubble suggests the woman wishes for a...
ABOUT six months ago, Patrick Ross knew things had reached a breaking point at work. An angry email he had sent to a superior — combined with occasional temper flare-ups and brusque interactions with colleagues — was endangering his...
One afternoon two years ago, I received a flurry of texts, Facebook messages and phone calls that Rick Curl, a prominent swim coach in the same Washington, D.C., area league as my childhood team, had been arrested for sexual abuse of a minor...
More than a fifth of American teens smoke or use tobacco in some way, which means that millions of them are putting themselves at risk for early death, a federal government study warns. Nearly 23 percent of high school students use tobacco...
The numbers are frightening. Right now, 2.3 million Americans are behind bars. That’s 1 in 138 peopleTweet, and the majority are African-American and Latino. It’s mind-boggling that the United States has the highest incarceration rate of...
Ruben Rodriguez, a teen from the Bronx, is on Rikers Island, waiting to stand trial for homicide. By the time he returned to the Box (punitive segregation) in late September, City of New York Correction Department Commissioner Joseph Ponte...
Dear Parent: I know. You’re worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting, shoving, pinching, scratching, maybe even biting other children. The one who always has to hold my hand in...
Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) are zeroing in on brain factors and behaviors that put teens at risk of alcohol use and abuse even before they start drinking. Four abstracts from the Adolescent Development Study...
Young women with stable coronary heart disease are more likely than men to have reduced blood flow to the heart if they're under emotional stress, but not physical stress, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific...
Protecting young people from sexual predators would seem to be a universally-held value in this country: No state has an age of consent lower than 16. But in some courtrooms, attorneys argue that children can make decisions about whom they have...
At a recent Linn-Mar school board meeting, Julie Jensen, Executive Director of Student Services, provided information about the Student Assistance Team and a couple of ways it supports students. One of the programs the team uses is called ACT,...