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 have a higher prevalence of cavities than their white peers. More than 50 percent of low-income adults and even 20 percent of those above the poverty line have untreated cavities.
We have recommendations that can help end these disparities.
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 along the road to meaningful leadership in preventing intimate partner violence.
In California, 58 percent of adult residents have been impacted by domestic violence directly or through a close friend or relative.
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 with Special Needs.
Today it serves over 1,500 Bay Area families, about half of them Chinese American, and offers a variety of programs across three locations.
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 these challenges, is to reach out for help, connect with other families of children with disabilities, and prioritize self-care.
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, interrogate the suspects, and put together a case.
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 program — which launched July 1 — has been slow to help most families who qualify.
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 California Senate aims to rectify problems with the state’s current Hearing Aid Coverage program and expand hearing aid access to thousands of families across the state.
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 counties must look at everybody’s files — and find ways to contact them and evaluate them for ongoing coverage — before cutting off Medi-Cal.
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 those who are white, and often hands us disproportionately longer punishments.
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 health care can be hard to access, but solutions exist.