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Texas child welfare workers and family courts will be required to consider additional medical opinions before taking children from parents in cases of suspected child abuse, under a new law going into effect Sept. 1. The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, also orders a state commission to study the work of state-funded doctors who are tasked with diagnosing child abuse. The commission will propose improvements to the process that Texas Child Protective Services workers follow when relying on these doctors’ medical reports. (Hixenbaugh and Blakinger, 6/21)

Despite a bipartisan push from state lawmakers, Texas middle and high school students won’t be required to learn about preventing family violence, dating violence and child abuse. Senate Bill 1109, which would have implemented such instruction in public schools, was among the 21 bills vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott after they were approved by both chambers of the Legislature. The measure, named the “Christine Blubaugh Act” in memory of a 16-year-old Grand Prairie girl who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend in 2000, would have mandated that Texans learn about prevention efforts at least once in middle school and twice in high school. Those lessons would have included information about the prevalence and signs of dating violence, ways to report abuse and resources available to students. (Harris, 6/22)

Nevada ranks among the bottom states for overall child well-being, though it experienced improvements in several categories, according to a new 50-state data report that tracks the topic through economic, educational, health and family lenses in the United States. The state earned the 45th spot for overall well-being, the Kids Count Data Book by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found. That’s up one spot from the 2020 ranking, according to the study released Monday. (McKenna, 6/21)

New Mexico’s national child well-being ranking improved from 50th last year to 49th this year, displaced by Mississippi, and following Louisiana, according to the 2021 Kids Count Data Book. The book also tracked improvements in the state’s national rankings in economic well-being and health. Compiled annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the 2021 book, released Monday, primarily used statistics from 2019, the most recent year available. Consequently it does not reflect changes or trends that may be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Nathanson, 6/21)

Lawyers representing young people incarcerated in adult prison have reached an agreement with the state over the Department of Correction’s delivery of educational and mental health services to youth held at Manson Youth Institution as the pandemic wanes in correctional facilities across Connecticut. The settlement, which is in place until Sept. 30, 2021, ensures the DOC will provide support to incarcerated young people after a year in which they were largely kept in their cells to protect them from COVID-19. Broadly, the accommodation deals with three topics: education, access to mental health and cell confinement in medical isolation and quarantine units. (Lyons, 6/22)

Last year, Alaska saw the highest number of syphilis cases ever reported in a single year, part of an outbreak that has been growing for the last three years, according to new data released by the state on Monday. In 2020, there was a record high of 361 reported cases — a 49% increase from the previous year, according to the latest report. This year is on track to hit similar highs, officials said, noting that the pandemic hindered efforts to control the outbreak. The state’s syphilis outbreak was first declared in 2018, when 114 cases were reported. The yearly total has increased every year since. In 2019, cases more than doubled, with 242 new cases of the infection. (Berman, 6/21)

Swimming in cash from an unexpected budget surplus and federal stimulus money, California is planning rent forgiveness on a scale never seen before in the United States. A $5.2 billion program in final negotiations at the State Legislature would pay 100 percent of unpaid rent that lower-income Californians incurred during the pandemic and would be financed entirely by federal money. The state is also proposing to set aside $2 billion to pay for unpaid water and electricity bills. (Fuller, Dougherty and Heyward, 6/21)