Child welfare
FILE - Kai Owens, center, celebrates after finishing first in the finals, between Hannah Soar, left, who finished second, and Tess Johnson, who placed third, in the World Cup women's dual moguls skiing competition Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in Deer Valley, Utah. As an infant, she was abandoned at a town square in a province of China. Taken to an orphanage, she was adopted by a couple from Colorado at 16 months. Now 17, U.S. freestyle skier Kai Owens is on the verge of earning a spot in moguls for the Winter Games in Beijing. It's a return to China she's long thought about. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Adopted US moguls skier eyes return to China as Olympian

By Pat Graham Dec. 20, 2021 01:47 PM EST

FILE - Kayla Harrison is shown during a PFL (Professional Fighters League) bout against Larissa Pacheco at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., in this Thursday, May 9, 2019, file photo. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison tries for another $1 million prize when she fights Taylor Guardado in the main event of the 2021 PFL Championships this week in Florida. (AP Photo/Greg Payan, File)
Harrison, now a mother of 2, fights for $1M PFL championship

By Dan Gelston Oct. 25, 2021 10:36 AM EDT

ADDS RESTRICTION: ONE TIME USE ONLY, EDITORIAL USE ONLY - IOC President Thomas Bach, right, meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, second from left, during a welcome party for Bach and IOC officials at Akasaka Palace, Japanese state guest house, in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, July 18, 2021.(Courtesy of Tokyo 2020 via AP)
Under-fire Olympic composer steps down over past bullying

By Yuri Kageyama And Mari Yamaguchi Jul. 19, 2021 07:39 AM EDT

Japanese composer for Tokyo Olympics apologizes for abuse

By Yuri Kageyama Jul. 17, 2021 09:07 PM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Keigo Oyamada, a Japanese composer whose music is part of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, has apologized for bullying a classmate during his...

Maine to review safety policies after 4 recent child deaths

Jun. 24, 2021 10:49 AM EDT
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine's human services department said Thursday it's evaluating child safety policies in the state in the wake of four deaths of young...

Teens, young adults in foster system eligible for grants

Jun. 23, 2021 12:46 PM EDT
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi teenagers and young adults who have spent time in the foster care system are now eligible for federal grants worth thousands...

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2020, file photo, Santa Fe Public School food workers Dolores Rodella and Eva Dominguez distribute lunches and breakfasts at a bus stop during the coronavirus pandemic in Santa Fe, New Mexico. New Mexico ranked 49th in a report released Monday, June 21, 2021, measuring child wellbeing based on data gathered before the pandemic. That's an improvement over last year when the state ranked 50th among U.S. states. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)
New Mexico ranks 49th in child well-being, an improvement

By Cedar Attanasio Jun. 21, 2021 11:40 AM EDT

FILE - This June 8, 2021 file photo shows the Supreme Court building in Washington. A Thursday, June 17, 2021 Supreme Court ruling that favored Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia was far from the constitutional gale wind that would have reshaped how courts interpret religious liberty under the First Amendment. Governmental entities are now on notice that if they want to ban discrimination against LGBTQ persons or anyone else, they had better not allow for any exceptions – or else religious groups will have the right to ask for them, and they'll have a strong case for getting them. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Catholic foster care agency wins Supreme Court verdict

By Jessica Gresko Jun. 17, 2021 03:20 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2020 file photo, a protester holds a sign with a message to stop supporting gangs during a protest demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A UNICEF report says that escalating gang violence has displaced thousands of women and children in the capital in the first two weeks of June 2021. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
Report: Gang violence displaces thousands in Haiti's capital

By Dánica Coto And Evens Sanon Jun. 15, 2021 10:09 AM EDT

Leroy Pascubillo smiles as he looks at his daughter, who was born addicted to heroin and placed with a foster family at birth, and talks about his journey regaining custody, May 10, 2021, in Seattle. Pascubillo, who had used drugs for the better part of four decades, was in a court-ordered in-patient drug rehab program when the pandemic first hit. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
AP analysis: COVID prolonged foster care stays for thousands

By Sally Ho And Camille Fassett Jun. 08, 2021 07:24 AM EDT

Leroy Pascubillo smiles as he looks at his daughter, who was born addicted to heroin and placed with a foster family at birth, and talks about his journey regaining custody, May 10, 2021, in Seattle. Pascubillo, who had used drugs for the better part of four decades, was in a court-ordered in-patient drug rehab program when the pandemic first hit. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
AP analysis: COVID prolonged foster care stays for thousands

By Sally Ho And Camille Fassett Jun. 08, 2021 07:19 AM EDT

W.Va. lawmakers approve using federal aid, spending on roads

By Cuneyt Dil Jun. 07, 2021 06:34 PM EDT
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia lawmakers Monday poured federal funds and extra state cash into road repairs, health care, and education programs such...

Connecticut reports a day with zero COVID-19 related deaths

Jun. 03, 2021 04:27 PM EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut Health Department's daily COVID-19 report listed zero coronavirus-related deaths Thursday for the first time since last...

FILE - In this March 30, 2021, file photo, minors lie inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, in Donna, Texas. A move by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to shutter dozens of shelters housing about 4,000 migrant children is threatening to disrupt a national program offering care for minors who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday, June 2 2021, that it didn't intend to close any facilities but that it was "assessing" the Republican governor's late Tuesday disaster declaration. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, Pool, File)
Texas push to close shelters for migrant kids alarms groups

By Adriana Gomez Licon And Acacia Coronado Jun. 02, 2021 05:31 PM EDT

Olivia Kilfoyle stands in her new apartment in Ogden, Utah, on Thursday, May 20, 2021, thanks to assistance from an injection of federal COVID-19 relief funds meant to help those in the foster care system or those who have recently aged out of it. (Tim Vandenack/Standard-Examiner via AP)
COVID-19 relief funds put former foster kid on stable ground

By Tim Vandenack May. 31, 2021 08:00 AM EDT

President Joe Biden tours the Cuyahoga Community College Manufacturing Technology Center, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden's $6T budget: Social spending, taxes on business

By Andrew Taylor May. 29, 2021 12:01 AM EDT

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Cuyahoga Community College Metropolitan Campus, Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden's $6T budget: Social spending, taxes on business

By Andrew Taylor May. 28, 2021 02:51 PM EDT

Idaho health department to close office in Preston

May. 25, 2021 02:50 PM EDT
PRESTON, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho Department of Health and Welfare office in the small town of Preston that helped people apply for Medicaid, food stamps, child...

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2021 file photo, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey addresses the media in Minneapolis. From COVID-19 to a budget shortfall, and from the death of George Floyd to the more recent death of a 6-year-old girl from gun violence, the mayor of Minneapolis says his city has experienced one trauma after another in the last year — and the city's Black community has felt the pain the most. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP, Pool File)
Minneapolis mayor: After year of reckoning, time for change

By Amy Forliti May. 20, 2021 05:46 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Pennsylvania

By The Associated Press May. 19, 2021 09:00 AM EDT
Philadelphia Inquirer. May 17, 2021. Editorial: Republican lawmakers should deal with real issues instead of targeting transgender children...