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.
In 2019, California legislators passed a first-of-its-kind law requiring that all public high schools begin classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and that middle schools start no earlier than 8 a.m. The law officially went into effect on July 1.
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.
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.
Data reported to the FBI each year by thousands of police departments across the country shows the percentage of youths taken into custody who were referred to adult courts dropped from 8% in 2010 to 2% in 2019.
Zagreb’s Administrative Court ruled on April 21 that same-sex couples should not face discrimination in state adoption, according to the Rainbow Families Association (RFA).
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.
By the fall of 2023, all 4-year-old children in Colorado will be able to attend preschool at no cost to their families.
The Welsh government has hailed the policy change as a ‘historic moment’ for children’s rights amid calls for England to follow suit.
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.”
While the Health Ministry has advised against conversion therapy for years, no formal prohibition had been issued against the practice until now.
