Parental substance abuse is one of the most common reasons that children wind up in foster care. In Sacramento, a court-based program mingles support and sanctions to help parents regain control of their lives and custody of their children. This article originally appeared in the November-December 2003 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Some parents divorce. Some lose their jobs. Others fall ill, struggle with alcoholism or drug addiction. Some even die. But their children need to keep on with their lives, and that means going to school. How prepared are teachers to deal respectfully with children struggling with loss? Rob Capriccioso shares his view on the need to educate the educators.

Holidays are a time of year when adults and children alike encounter a lot of high-calorie temptation. But candy canes and chocolate Santas are just the seasonal tip of the iceberg when it comes to trying to help kids eat right. Connect for Kids’ Rob Capriccioso explores the concerns of health experts and parents in the battle against childhood obesity.

The emergence of the school nurse a century ago in the New York City Schools is part of the evolution of children's health care in this country. As part of our ongoing project Kids in America: 500 Years of Change Connect for Kids highlights some of the critical moments in that evolution.

As the field of school nursing enters its second century, changes in law and society have transformed the profession: school nurses now supervise children on complicated meds, help kids manage chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes, and look for signs of depression, drug or alcohol abuse. Nevertheless, reports Rob Capriccioso, they are a frequent target of school budget cuts.

New research indicates that adolescence is crunch time in the nation's uphill battle against obesity and overweight. Children who enter adolescence overweight are very likely to remain that way into adulthood, and large numbers of kids become overweight in adolescence. Can PE help? George Graham, president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, says yes.

Learning that a child has Type 1 diabetes is hard on families. A familiar source of childhood comfort—the teddy bear—is helping a growing network of kids and parents cope. By Rob Capriccioso.

With the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks upon us, the memories of that day and subsequent events continue to exert their power. Connect for Kids former Editor Susan Phillips believes we have a long way to go to recognize the depth of that power, especially for our children.

Remember your first trip to the top of a really tall playground slide? Remember the kid who got to the top of ladder, but couldn't get up the nerve to slide—or climb back down? Modern safety concerns have made this particular rite of passage rare, and raise the question, does a safe playground have to be boring? By Rob Capriccioso.

Parents looking for a safe and healthy way to get kids to school might want to consider this option: a bus that wears sneakers. Rob Capriccioso explores how some communities have found ways to leave the mini-van behind this school year.