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REDDING, Calif. - The Northstate is a concentrated area of opioid use, but there have been improvements in Shasta County. "What disturbs me the most, especially in our community is that you see young people who needlessly die tragically," said Shasta County Chief Deputy Coroner Gene Randall. The drug epidemic doesn't just mean illegal drugs. "In 2013, we had about 1,300 to 1,400 opioid prescriptions every 1,000 people here in a year, which means more than one opioid prescription for every...

In an effort to remove obstacles for Californians trying to succeed in the labor market, a new law could make access to child care easier for low-income parents taking classes to learn English or complete high school. The law will expand the eligibility requirements for subsidized child care. It will make low-income parents who are are enrolled in English as a second language classes (ESL) or a program to earn a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) eligible...

(Image source:gardenapd.org) In the past two decades , the number of youth who are detained or incarcerated by juvenile justice systems has plummeted, a trend largely attributable to declining arrest rates and buffered by intentional system reform. But as the overall numbers have dropped, the racial disparity inside those juvenile facilities has increased, according to new data from the W. Haywood Burns Institute . And in some states, including California, the gap is getting much wider. In...

In 2015, California settled Ashker v. Governor , a historic class-action lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of a group of Pelican Bay State prison inmates who had each spent at least a decade in isolation. The settlement resulted in an end to the use of indefinite solitary confinement in CA prisons. On Monday, CCR filed a motion accusing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of violating the rights of inmates freed from indefinite...

Busloads of high school students and parents from organizations statewide have trekked to State Board of Education meetings for two years, clamoring for changes they believe will improve school climate. In moving testimony, students described schools where they feel disconnected, misunderstood and often under-challenged. “If you are serious about closing the achievement gap, and bringing equity to our most vulnerable students, don’t continue to neglect school climate,” Armon Matthews, a...

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced that the regulations drafted by the California Department of Justice (DOJ) for the collection of data pertaining to law enforcement stops under Assembly Bill 953 (AB 953), the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) of 2015, are now final. Beginning July 1, 2018, law enforcement agencies, starting with the nine largest agencies, will begin collecting stop data and reporting the information to the DOJ. “Public safety is...

A new report outlines strategies the state of California could employ that would reduce its prison and jail populations by 30,000 and save approximately $1.5 billion in prison spending. In 2016, there were over 200,000 people were locked in California’s prisons and jails. According to the report, lowering the incarcerated population by 30,000—by reducing the length of prison time for the majority of inmates by 20 percent—would make it possible for the state to close five prisons. The report,...

Early childhood is a critical time that shapes opportunities and outcomes for a lifetime, yet little attention has been given to the deleterious impact community violence can have on young children. New PI resources explore the linkages between safety and child development, making the case for preventing violence and community trauma. When community environments are safe, they can provide thriving conditions for communities, families, and young children. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation...

Today , HopSkipDrive, a child-focused ride-sharing company, announced a partnership with Los Angeles County’s Office of Education (LACOE) to transport foster youth to school. Moving at what one official called a “fast and furious” pace to rectify its failure to comply with foster care mandates enshrined in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), LACOE has contracted with the L.A.-based tech company to give foster kids rides to their so-called “school of origin” through the end of the...

Workers who want to earn at least $35,000 a year increasingly need to have some training beyond high school but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. That’s the conclusion of a Georgetown University study on the nation’s workforce that goes beyond the narrative that all students need to aim for a four-year college degree. In California, the best prospects for workers without a bachelor’s degree are in manufacturing, health services, financial activities, real estate, construction and the...

As California’s housing shortage intensifies, the number of homeless children is expected to climb. Since 2014, the number of homeless youth in California has jumped 20 percent, to more than 202,329, and accounts for nearly 4 percent of the overall public school population. Homeless children are enrolled in nearly every district in the state, according to the California Homeless Youth Project . An EdSource special project explored the issue in detail, and includes a map showing the number of...

The California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions (CIBHS) is pleased to invite you to submit a proposal for an oral presentation or an E-Poster Session at this year’s Evidence-Based Practices Symposium 2018: Building Lives Beyond Trauma . This year’s symposium will be held at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown Arena, in Sacramento, California on Thursday, April 5 th – Friday, April 6 th , 2018. Our theme is, “Building Lives Beyond Trauma,” this is a theme that inspires hope that...