Best practice theories hold that foster children should maintain contact with their biological parents unless there’s strong reason not to. Until recently,...
Over the course of a decade, Rosie Starks served as a foster parent to four children. For the past three years, she’s...
The advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and first lady Laura Bush’s emphasis on literacy has been a good-news, bad-news scenario...
The statistics can be depressing: One-third of all Americans drop out of school. Only half of African-American, Latino and American Indian youth...
Katrina Lawson was hardly a good candidate for homeownership, what with a tangled credit history and a landlord fining her for...
Chicago People here call Jack Wuest many things.“Passionate advocate.”“Bulldog.”“Hope merchant.”“A real a—hole.” That last one comes from Wuest, projecting what some people...
Marshfield, Wis.—Whether it’s tractors rolling over, high-powered machinery that ensnares clothing or poisonous chemicals that look like fruit juice, farms can be...
Manitowoc, Wis.—The people who run Project Youth here realize that missing a grant application deadline is a fundamental mistake. When they did...
Des Plaines, Ill.—For 120 years, some of the most pained children in Illinois have come to the Maryville Academy for help and...
Evanston, Ill.—Two Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies in suburban Chicago will no longer offer the agency’s signature program: the one-to-one program in...
Evanston, Ill.—It’s a mild Thursday evening in October, and the Ben & Jerry’s shop two blocks from Northwestern University enjoys a steady...
Chicago—A couple years ago, managers at the Gen. Robert E. Wood Boys & Girls Club began begging for money to hire more...