Feature Story Archives

Mentorship for youth with disabilities should be a right, not a matter of chance

A RAMP mentor and participant show how disability-informed mentorship builds trust, skills and belonging for youth who need it most.

Fashion Forward Kinspire showed me my future was possible_The people and principles behind it_feature: group of young people walk along a New York City street

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From the Field

Fashion Forward Kinspire showed me my future was possible: The people and principles behind it

For youth in kinship care, Fashion Forward Kinspire builds confidence and creative careers — told by a student, mentor and founder.

When working can't feed families, youth have to find a new way_feature: graphic illustration of piggybank and bag of money growing indicating earning and saving money

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From the Field

When working can’t feed families, youth have to find a new way

Editor’s note: In just two years, a financial literacy platform started by a New Jersey teenager has grown into an international movement....

The moral power of youth today-Indias Gen Z protesters have set a unique global example_feature: several young Indian men protesting using nonviolent resistance with one holding sign that says "Say No to Corruption"

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Opinion

The moral power of youth today: India’s Gen Z protesters have set a unique global example

When a fraud-ridden exam system betrayed them, India's Gen Z protesters chose discipline over rage — offering the world a lesson in...

What Long Beach can teach communities about youth participatory budgeting_feature: group of young people collaborating around wooden table with laptops and charts

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News

What Long Beach can teach communities about youth participatory budgeting

In 2026, more than 1,400 young people in Long Beach, California, voted on how to allocate $500,000 in public funding among 10...

Beyond the panic-Turning youth AI anxiety into strategic digital literacy_feature: Glowing orange neon graduation cap sitting on a high tech digital circuit board representing the intersection of technology, AI anxiety and education

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Opinion

Beyond the panic: Turning youth “AI anxiety” into strategic digital literacy

A career counselor says youth 'AI anxiety' isn't irrational — exploring its risks and benefits together can build trust and practical solutions.

What 25 years of addressing clothing insecurity has taught us about helping children thrive_feature: a young black boy puts on a jacket at school

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From the Field

What 25 years of addressing clothing insecurity has taught us about helping children thrive

While serving millions of children, Operation Warm has learned a coat does more than keep kids warm — it helps them show...

When the plan fails, change the plan_feature: graphic illustration of paper airplane labeled "Plan A" crashing to ground while rocket ship labeled "Plan B" lifts off

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Opinion

When the plan fails, change the plan

What if the plan is the problem, not the young person? Five field leaders make the case for asking youth why —...

Be seen-A simple activity for fostering deep relational visibility in youth groups_feature: a boy holds a card with an eye on it in a group setting as part of activity

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From the Field

Be seen: A simple activity for fostering deep relational visibility in youth groups

Many young people feel more visible than ever online, yet still unseen in real life. Jim Still-Pepper shares an activity to help...

When the lights go out, whose children matter_feature: photo of trees downed by storm in front of yellow house, power outages

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Opinion

When the lights go out, whose children matter?

Will northwest Indiana's 2 week power outages lead to increased reports of child neglect?

Sad youth, sad student, juvenile justice, school-to-prison pipeline: Sad Black preteen girl with long braids in red shirt and blue jeans sitting on windowsill.

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Opinion

The students we stop counting: Education, incarceration and the children left behind

South Carolina's school-to-prison pipeline, how the systems create a cycle of failure instead of support — and five solutions.

QA-Brit Christopher Gabriel Arika youth prisons don't work-magazine of youth perspectives building movement_feature: magazine page with graphic, colorful illustration from No Kids in Prison magazine, youth incarceration

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News

Q&A: Brit Christopher and Gabriel Arika on why youth prisons don’t work — and how their youth-led magazine is building a movement

The No Kids in Prison magazine is a project of Youth First Justice Collaborative (YFJCo), a national organization dedicated to ending youth...

"American Progress" painting by John Gast. It depicts Manifest Destiny, the belief in westward expansion of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Settlers are moving west, guided and protected by Columbia, aided by modern technology like railroads and education , driving Native Americans and bison into obscurity. Columbia represents America, dressed in a Roman toga to represent classical republicanism, and brings the enlightened east to the darkened west.

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Opinion

Manifest Destiny’s Child

Dan Warren traces a line from a famous 19th-century painting to today's well-intentioned but one-directional efforts to "fix" young people's lives.

Investing in the workforce to sustain and expand youth services workforce in NYC_feature: graphic image showing colorful illustrated skyline against dark blue background

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► Reports

Investing in the workforce to sustain and expand youth services in NYC

The Collaborative for Advancing Youth Development gives recommendations on how NYC can better support and sustain its youth services workforce.

Four things navigating public-private community partnership taught me about leadership_feature: group of youth and adults in group posing for picture

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From the Field

Four things navigating public-private partnerships taught me about leadership

A strong community partnership succeeds because people trust each other enough to solve problems together.

People want to help youth who are brave enough to be different_feature: young Asian woman crouches next to buckets with mushrooms growing out of them

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From the Field

People want to help youth who are brave enough to be different

My experience with Fungi For Future has shown me that when young leaders pursue what excites them, community support often follows.

The problem isnt access its application-What teens actually need from financial education _feature2: group of black youths happily working on phones while using financial planning app

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From the Field

The problem isn’t access, it’s application: What teens actually need from financial education

Financial education programs should have structured, repeated opportunities to make age-appropriate financial decisions — and see the real-world impact.

Addressing the opportunity cost of youth programs_feature: youth workers handing out things at table at event, youth opportunity

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From the Field

Addressing the opportunity cost of youth programs

We say we want to expand youth opportunity, but programs are still designed around the assumption that young people can participate if...

We're waiting too long to help kids in crisis — and leaving foster care as the only option_feature: a professional family behavioral health intervention specialist speaks with parents and teenage boy while young daughter draws while laying on floor

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From the Field

We’re waiting too long to help kids in crisis — and leaving foster care as the only option

Integrated, family-centered behavioral health care offers a path forward — one that aligns treatment with the goal of keeping families safely together.

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