Opinion: I was on Medi-Cal as a Child. As an Optometrist, I’m Struggling to...
For optometrists in California, the gap between the cost of providing care and what the state covers is growing wider each year. While Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed improving Medi-Cal access by paying...
View ArticleAnalysis: Doctors Told Me My Son Would Be Better Cared for in an Institution....
For children with complex medical needs, many parents are told that institutionalization — care that is provided in a location other than home — is the only option. While spending time in acute care...
View ArticleOpinion: We Can End Sexual and Domestic Violence. We Just Need Funding
To experience a world free from violence, California must invest in the necessary funding and resources to prevent it. However, with one-time funding for sexual and domestic violence prevention set to...
View ArticleHow to Make Sure Medically Fragile Children Don’t Lose Health Coverage
Janna Espinoza shudders remembering the day she and her daughter Coraline, then 8, showed up for an appointment in Salinas with their trusted pediatrician and were turned away because the child no...
View ArticlePunishing Families Part 2: L.A. County Data Reveals Child Removal Hotspots
LA County’s DCFS removes between 4,000 and 6,000 kids from their homes every year and places them in foster care. Of those removed, social workers disproportionately place children of color and those...
View ArticleHow San Luis Obispo Parents are Helping Prevent Relationship Violence Before...
When Christina Kaviani’s son, 6, doesn’t want to hug a grandparent or friend, Kaviani goes against some parenting methods and doesn’t make him. To her, it’s a matter of consent. As an educator on...
View ArticleMental Health Care Is Critical for Survivors of Violence. Access Is Another...
Domestic violence survivors often need mental health care. Like veterans of wars, these survivors have often been subjected to prolonged periods of extreme stress and fear for their safety. Mental...
View ArticleI Was Criminalized as a Domestic Violence Survivor. Here’s How We Reform the...
My criminalization and incarceration has led me to a serious awakening of how corrupt and broken our justice system is. The system incarcerates Black and brown people like me at a much higher rate than...
View ArticleOpinion: Achieving California’s Health Equity Goals Depends on Getting This...
For the first time since 2020, millions of Californians are renewing their Medi-Cal benefits. Since the health of approximately 40 percent of Californians depends on Medi-Cal coverage, the state and...
View ArticleMany California Children Can’t Afford Hearing Aids, but a New Bill Could...
In California, over 98 percent of newborns are screened for hearing loss. But when it comes to intervention, there is little action to ensure these children are supported. A bill pending in the...
View ArticleFor Children with Long-Term Health Conditions, This Program Could Be a...
A new benefit called Enhanced Care Management offered under California’s Medi-Cal program could help parents who are caring for children with complex physical, behavioral and social needs. However, the...
View ArticleAnalysis: Overwhelmed With Medical Bills? It Helps to Think Like a Detective
Thinking of myself as a health care detective who is solving a mystery makes a frustrating process feel a little bit more interesting. You have to figure out the motive, gather the evidence,...
View ArticleHow Families of Children With Disabilities Can Find Support
Caring for children with special needs is demanding work. Without adequate support or rest, parents can end up feeling depleted and alone. The solution, according to experts and parents who have faced...
View ArticleHow One Bay Area Organization is Helping Asian American Families Find Support
In 1996, a group of 10 Asian American families founded a support network for people with disabilities and their caregivers. The organization eventually became a nonprofit called Friends of Children...
View ArticleOpinion: California Has a Chance to Lead the Nation in Ending Domestic Violence
Our governor could take two steps right now that would bring together the committed players in domestic violence prevention, help identify and fill in gaps in support, and put the state even further...
View ArticleOpinion: How to Combat Racism and Bias in Dentistry
An estimated 50 percent of children in the United States do not receive regular dental care because of social, economic and geographic barriers to care. Mexican American and Black preschool children...
View ArticleCalifornia Is Rationing Care for People With Disabilities. It’s Indefensible,...
A critical program that medically fragile children depend on to get at-home care is broken, leaving families desperate. This is a medical and developmental emergency for children with disabilities, and...
View ArticleA Model for Getting Domestic Violence Survivors Wraparound Support
Family Justice Centers are designed to provide one-stop support for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse and human trafficking. The goal is to make it easy for...
View ArticleOpinion: For Communities to Thrive, We Need More Funding to Address Domestic...
Domestic violence is a problem that exists in all communities irrespective of culture, religion, sexual orientation, income or immigration status. Yet, despite its prevalence, we are facing federal...
View ArticleHealth Care for Young Adults with Disabilities Is Complicated, But Here Are...
Adults with disabilities no longer qualify for the same care, services and programs that they did as children. Instead, youth who turn 18 and their families must tackle a long checklist of tasks. Yet...
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