One organization wants to help the longest waiting children in Arizona s foster-care system find their way into loving, adoptive family homes. Rita Soronen, CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, said Arizona was one of the first states where they launched their Wendy s Wonderful Kids Program, a child-focused recruitment model, which Soronen noted works to help children with a higher likelihood of going through the foster care system and not being adopted. Soronen added the goal is to get enough youths adopted from the foster system, so the state can then use the savings to pay for the program independently. .
Child care is one the costliest services for families across the country. Advocates for child well being say Washington state has positioned itself to tackle the issue going forward. Staffing remains one of the toughest issues for child care facilities. .
Children living in income-restricted households do not always have regular access to healthy meals, especially when school is out. Almost summer meal programs in Indiana are working to change it by offering thousands of kids free breakfast and lunch. What started at a park site in the summer of 2017 with a monthly book distribution to area kids has transitioned to a quickly growing summer school meal program. .
A child advocacy group in Texas is already looking ahead to the 2025 legislative session, after several policy changes it supported this year failed to gain traction. The group Texans Care for Children believes there were "missed opportunities" to help kids and families thrive, despite the state s $33 billion budget surplus. Peter Clark, communications director for the group, pointed out lawmakers did not address the state s lack of child care or uninsured rates for kids and adults, but did make a major step forward in providing postpartum health coverage for moms. .
The federal COVID-19 public health emergency may be over, but there is lingering concern about the mental state of children. In South Dakota, a pre-pandemic program pulling communities together to prevent youth adversity, is taking flight amid these concerns. The Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment gives South Dakota communities a framework to improve harmful home environments for kids. .