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Federal workers have already seen the pains of the government shutdown — with some 800,000 people being either furloughed or working without pay. Soon, though, the government shutdown could endanger SNAP food stamp benefits, CBS News reported. That could put the food source of some 42 million Americans at risk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has enough money for the month of January, and there is another $3 billion in emergency funds for February. But, that is not enough to pay...

Imagine being held up at gunpoint. Do you trust you could remember the perpetrator’s face? The gun? Or would you have a better recollection of how loud the birds were chirping at that moment? “The memory does not operate like a videotape machine faithfully recording every single detail,” said Richard J. McNally, a professor of psychology at Harvard University and the author of “Remembering Trauma.” “The thing that is happening is that you’re focusing on the most dangerous thing,” he said.

Housing quality, instability, and unaffordability threaten the well-being of millions of children across the nation. Research shows that housing is the first rung on the ladder to economic opportunity and that a person’s access to opportunity is intrinsically linked with that of the community where they live. As home prices increase, the gap between rents and incomes continues to widen, and nearly half of today’s renters are cost burdened . Child welfare professionals, educators, and...

It’s good, healthy and human to want love and seek it out. Yet for some people, showing emotional needs may be linked to painful memories and experiences. As attachment research shows, people learn in early childhood whether to expect to feel safe or unsafe expressing emotional needs. Feeling rejected, devalued or invisible for one’s human needs often triggers shame. These painful emotions may inhibit future efforts to connect. Those who experience their needs as ‘unacceptable’ may come to...

A healthy, engaged community depends on people achieving to the best of their potential, contributing actively to the economy and public well-being, and helping the next generation to thrive. A complex set of intertwined social and biological factors influences people’s motivation to participate actively and productively in schools, jobs, and communities–and to persevere in the face of setbacks. To unlock this puzzle and ensure that all people have the opportunity to develop motivation to...

Perhaps the most common cause of ACE's comes down to parents lacking the "tools" for supporting their child's development. Instead, parents often automatically follow the parenting patterns they received - including the absent parenting - particularly when their responses to child behavior are dis-regulated by their own adverse early childhood experiences. See my latest youtube posted audio: Successful Parenting. Many parents, teachers and care givers have found it to be extremely helpful as...

This is part two of a two-part essay. Part one can be found here . Calls for a Universal Basic Income have been increasing, most recently as part of the Green New Deal introduced by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and supported in the last month by at least 40 members of Congress. A universal basic income is a monthly payment to all adults with no strings attached, similar to Social Security. Critics say the Green New Deal asks too much of the rich and upper-middle-class taxpayers...

A few days before Christmas , the federal government extended an invitation to state child welfare agencies that has the potential to completely transform the system. The invitation did not arrive with great publicity. Nor was it lengthy. Instead, it was announced in a few ordinary-looking sentences, in a very ordinary-looking email. But looks can be deceiving. The change announced by the federal government could lead to far fewer children being placed in foster care. It could expedite the...

How you feel can affect your ability to carry out everyday activities, your relationships, and your overall mental health. How you react to your experiences and feelings can change over time. Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times. Flip each card below for checklists on how to improve your health in each area. Click on the images to read articles about each topic. You can also print the checklists separately or all...

Marcela Villa isn’t a big name in health care — but she played a crucial role in the lives of thousands of Medicaid patients in California. Her official title: denial nurse. Each week, dozens of requests for treatment landed on her desk after preliminary rejections. Her job, with the assistance of a part-time medical director, was to conclusively determine whether the care — from doctor visits to cancer treatment — should be covered under the nation’s health insurance program for low-income...

Locked behind their green classroom door, MaKenzie Woody and 25 other first-graders huddled in the darkness. She sat on the vinyl tile floor against a far wall, beneath a taped-up list of phrases the kids were encouraged to say to each other: “I like you,” “You’re a rainbow,” “Are you ok?” In that moment, though, the 6-year-old didn’t say anything at all, because she believed that a man with a gun was stalking the hallways of her school in the nation’s capital, and MaKenzie feared what he...

People across the world may face a variety of challenges, but innovators, activists, and organizations worked together in 2018 to find impressive solutions. In no particular order, here are 14 innovations that made the world a more inclusive, safe, and all-around better place this year. To learn about other ingenious innovations, check out this list from 2017. [For more on this story by Mashable Team, go to https://mashable.com/article/social-good-innovations-2018/#0SBmsikslOqj ]