Poverty and Class

Researchers found that California diabetics who live in low-income neighborhoods are up to 10 times more likely to lose a toe, foot or leg than patients who live in affluent areas. Early diagnosis and proper treatment can prevent many of these amputations, researchers said.

Southern California's Orange County has a reputation as an affluent playground, making the county's food insecurity stats all the more surprising. That kind of juxtaposition between a locale's perception and reality can make for powerful stories that grab audiences and start conversations.

A reporting trip that set out to investigate the causes behind a mysterious childhood cancer cluster turned into a valuable lesson in embracing a truer kind of complexity — not the twists and turns of a mystery novel’s plot, but the unpredictable emotions that guide real people’s lives.

The Nurse Family Partnership, an early intervention program which features home-visits for at risk children, has a track record of better health outcomes and reducing problems among poorer moms and kids. But it isn't a cure-all for the problems darkening the prospects of these children.

It is difficult not to view poverty-stricken farmworkers as victims and pesticide manufacturers (and those of us who benefit from them) as perpetrators. Yet, my reporting demonstrated the complexity of the issues involved, leaving me with the uneasy sense that there was no clear-cut solution.

While offering high-quality public preschool programs at scale requires a major investment of dollars, the available research suggests it’s an investment that pays generous dividends.

The language gap between rich and poor children may be well known but new research suggests the gap may be taking shape earlier than anyone expected.

More than a decade of research in the Salinas Valley of California - one of the most thriving agriculture regions in the world - has shed light on environmental hazards and their potential health risks.

Unyque Jackson started kindergarten in Oakland. Her parents divorced when she was five. And Unyque moved to the San Joaquin Valley where she lived in her father’s house and was raised by her grandmother.

One out of four adults in California is a high school dropout. "Class Dismissed" takes an up-close look at the crisis through the lives of four young people from the Central Valley. The stories reveal what’s at stake for their future and ours.