Youth crime in the U.S. has plummeted 78% since 1994
Law enforcement agencies made an estimated 424,300 arrests of youth in 2020, a 38% drop from the previous year and half the number from five years earlier.
Child well-being
This archive tracks real progress in child well-being — from advances in nutrition, education, and mental health to policies that expand opportunity for young people worldwide. Each story focuses on what’s working and why, grounded in evidence rather than optimism alone.
California launches largest free school lunch program in U.S.
When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free, regardless of their family’s income.
Botswana reduces mother-baby HIV transmission rates from 40% to below 1% since 1999
Mother-to-child HIV transmission in Botswana has plummeted from 40% in 1999 to below 1% today, with seven health districts recording zero cases in 2021. The country built its success on three simple pillars — free testing, free antiretroviral treatment, and community health workers who visit pregnant women at home to walk them through the process. Nearly every pregnant woman with HIV now receives treatment, up from just 27% two decades ago. In December 2021, Botswana became the first high-burden country to earn the WHO’s silver tier recognition for this work. It’s a powerful blueprint for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa: when care is free, trusted, and close to home, an AIDS-free generation moves within reach.
Many U.S. states now allow mental health absences for students
At least nine states now allow students to take mental health days. Other states using less expensive solutions like in-class mediation, mindfulness exercises, and social-emotional training.
Joe Biden issues executive order to fight conversion therapy & LGBTQ fostering discrimination
The executive order tells the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue rules that ban the use of federal funds for programs that offer conversion therapy.
Landmark study finds first biomarker to detect babies at risk of SIDS
SIDS has resisted explanation for generations, but researchers have now found the first biological signal present at birth that distinguishes vulnerable infants from others. Australian scientists discovered that babies who died of SIDS had measurably lower levels of an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase — which helps regulate the brain’s arousal response — in routine newborn blood samples. That same heel-prick screening already happens in hospitals worldwide, meaning a future test could fit into existing programs with little disruption. This finding gives researchers a concrete target for the first time, and brings the dream of preventing these devastating losses meaningfully closer.
Colorado passes bill offering 10 hours per week of free universal preschool
By the fall of 2023, all 4-year-old children in Colorado will be able to attend preschool at no cost to their families.
Wales bans smacking and slapping children
The Welsh government has hailed the policy change as a ‘historic moment’ for children’s rights amid calls for England to follow suit.
Tokyo schools drop controversial dress code on hair and underwear color
Other rules being cut include the practice of punishing students with a form of house arrest, and ambiguous language in the guidelines on what is considered “typical of high school students.”
Israel formally bans LGBTQ+ conversion therapy
While the Health Ministry has advised against conversion therapy for years, no formal prohibition had been issued against the practice until now.