Boston, Chicago and San Francisco set a welcome example earlier in the decade when they abandoned counterproductive policies that often barred former offenders from municipal jobs, no matter how minor their crime nor how distant in the past. Connecticut, New Mexico and Minnesota have recently passed laws protecting the employment rights of former offenders. Other states should quickly follow.

Boston, Chicago and San Francisco set a welcome example earlier in the decade when they abandoned counterproductive policies that often barred former offenders from municipal jobs, no matter how minor their crime nor how distant in the past. Connecticut, New Mexico and Minnesota have recently passed laws protecting the employment rights of former offenders. Other states should quickly follow.

Gerontologists use the term "caregiver burden" for the ongoing emotional and physical stress of providing care, and research shows that no one feels more caregiver burden than the elderly spouses of dementia patients. They pay the highest price in terms of their own health.

It's a practice so hidden, many don't realize it exists: the shackling of incarcerated women during childbirth. Across the U.S., there are stories of women going from jails or prisons to hospitals, where they labor and sometimes even deliver while restrained with handcuffs, leg shackles or both.

It's a practice so hidden, many don't realize it exists: the shackling of incarcerated women during childbirth. Across the U.S., there are stories of women going from jails or prisons to hospitals, where they labor and sometimes even deliver while restrained with handcuffs, leg shackles or both.

As states face severe budget shortfalls, many have cut home-care services for the elderly or the disabled, programs that have been shown to save states money in the long run because they keep people out of nursing homes. Since the start of the recession, at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have curtailed programs that include meal deliveries, housekeeping aid and assistance for family caregivers, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research organization. That threatens to reverse a long-term trend of enabling people to stay in their homes longer.

As states face severe budget shortfalls, many have cut home-care services for the elderly or the disabled, programs that have been shown to save states money in the long run because they keep people out of nursing homes. Since the start of the recession, at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have curtailed programs that include meal deliveries, housekeeping aid and assistance for family caregivers, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research organization. That threatens to reverse a long-term trend of enabling people to stay in their homes longer.

"I call it medical minutes," says Dr. Richard Katz of George Washington University Hospital in the nation's capital. He's testing whether inner-city diabetics, an especially hard-to-treat population, might better control their blood sugar—and thus save Medicaid dollars—by tracking their disease using Internet-connected cellphones, provided with reduced monthly rates as long as they regularly comply.

"I call it medical minutes," says Dr. Richard Katz of George Washington University Hospital in the nation's capital. He's testing whether inner-city diabetics, an especially hard-to-treat population, might better control their blood sugar—and thus save Medicaid dollars—by tracking their disease using Internet-connected cellphones, provided with reduced monthly rates as long as they regularly comply.

For years, recess at Grout Elementary School in Portland, Ore., was fraught with the same sort of playground woes common around the country.Some kids would play, some wouldn't. Some roughhoused and got into tussles. Resolving those tussles, teachers said, ate into post-recess classroom time. "Kids are not inherently kind to each other," said Principal Susan McElroy. The pattern was broken about a year ago when McElroy hired a recess coach to help children do what they used to do naturally: play. Now, Grout has its own professional coach on school grounds all day who not only organizes and supervises playground games, but also trains kids to be junior coaches, teaches conflict resolution and serves as a mentor, McElroy said.

For years, recess at Grout Elementary School in Portland, Ore., was fraught with the same sort of playground woes common around the country.Some kids would play, some wouldn't. Some roughhoused and got into tussles. Resolving those tussles, teachers said, ate into post-recess classroom time. "Kids are not inherently kind to each other," said Principal Susan McElroy. The pattern was broken about a year ago when McElroy hired a recess coach to help children do what they used to do naturally: play. Now, Grout has its own professional coach on school grounds all day who not only organizes and supervises playground games, but also trains kids to be junior coaches, teaches conflict resolution and serves as a mentor, McElroy said.

They have their eyes on twin prizes: first college degrees, then careers in law, medicine, education or business. But they know it's going to take hard work to get there. That's why these 22 students have traded a summer of hanging out with friends for.

They have their eyes on twin prizes: first college degrees, then careers in law, medicine, education or business. But they know it's going to take hard work to get there. That's why these 22 students have traded a summer of hanging out with friends for.

More than 240,000 female service members have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for many, reintegrating into civilian life and trying to find employment is not within their reach. The Department of Veteran Affairs has acknowledged that women are nearly four times as likely as men to end up homeless.

More than 240,000 female service members have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for many, reintegrating into civilian life and trying to find employment is not within their reach. The Department of Veteran Affairs has acknowledged that women are nearly four times as likely as men to end up homeless.

Williams and Hadler acknowledge the grim reality of most for-profit nursing homes-- “walled communities” where the elderly quickly lose their autonomy, in a place that “lies somewhere between a homeless shelter and a hospital; a smelly, run down, unattractive warehouse filled with mentally and physically impoverished , half-dead people.” Care is very expensive, but often not very good.

Williams and Hadler acknowledge the grim reality of most for-profit nursing homes-- “walled communities” where the elderly quickly lose their autonomy, in a place that “lies somewhere between a homeless shelter and a hospital; a smelly, run down, unattractive warehouse filled with mentally and physically impoverished , half-dead people.” Care is very expensive, but often not very good.

Minority children have fewer opportunities than their white peers to gain access to high-quality health care, education, safe neighborhoods and adequate support from the communities where they live, according to a nationwide survey of professionals who work with young people.

Raising kids and a family can be a handful for parents. It can be especially overwhelming when also caring for an elderly loved one as many families discover that providing care for aging relatives can be challenging. In this week’s weekly parenting segment, Host Michel Martin speaks with author and veteran geriatric specialist Marion Somers about balancing family life with elder care. Also joining the conversation is Jolene Ivey, a regular parenting contributor and mother of five who also cares for her elderly father.

Families with lower incomes have been especially hard hit by this recession, and the lowest-priced homes have suffered the deepest drops in value. All of that has meant even more pressure on the poorest homeowners. NPR's Joshua Brockman has our report.