In Tulare County, California, residents are breathing -- not to mention working, learning and playing -- a little easier after a coalition of concerned families pushed for regulations that create a quarter-mile buffer zone between pesticide spraying and schools, residential neighborhoods, preschools and farm labor camps. This Grassroots Snapshot from the Children’s Advocate has the scoop on their success.

In California, the journey from parent to activist starts at home: the Los Angeles Community Action Network won a citywide law to preserve affordable housing in residential hotels targeted for luxury development.

On June 6, Californians will have a chance to vote on Proposition 82, which would provide voluntary, free preschool for all California four-year-olds by 2010. It's the latest, and largest, effort at the state level to increase the supply of early education. Here are the main points and the key arguments, pro and con. This article comes from the May-June 2006 issue of Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Even putting aside the difficult issue of legal status, immigrant families face some particular barriers to finding good early-education opportunities for their youngsters. This report looks at the situation in California. This article originally appeared in the March-April 2006 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Asthma is a large and growing health problem for kids. So San Francisco parents are breathing easier now that city school buses are using new air filters to reduce asthma-inducing pollutants. This article by Elisa Gahng from the January-February 2006 issue of the Children's Advocate explains how parents pushed for the change.

The more researchers learn about diagnosing and treating developmental delays and disabilities, the clearer the message becomes: the earlier the better. In Los Angeles, dozens of agencies are working together to encourage parents and caregivers to use simple observational tools to screen young children—and get them services when needed. Amy Coutee reports on the L.A. County Early Identification and Intervention Group.

Teens worked hard to sell the Berkeley City Council on a referendum that would let voters decide if residents 16 and up could vote in local elections but their effort fell short. It was an object lesson in how hard it can be, even in liberal Berkeley, to convince adults that younger teens should vote. Rob Capriccioso has the story.

Discussions about school improvement often become laments about the lack of parent involvement, particularly in low-income communities. Who's to blame? South L.A. parent leader Maisie Chin thinks teachers and administrators need to look in the mirror. This article originally appeared in the March-April 2005 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

With the numbers of kids suffering from asthma on the rise, more and more cities are taking steps to help some of its most common victims: kids who live in and around urban areas. Here, Connect for Kids' Rob Capriccioso highlights several urban asthma mobiles across the U.S. that have been set up to not only treat the symptoms of asthma, but also to educate parents and children on how to effectively manage the chronic condition.

It took three years of grass-roots activism, but schoolchildren in Los Angeles are eating healthier this year. This story from the July-August 2004 issue of the Children's Advocate explains.