AUSTIN, Texas -- Cancer is the leading cause of death among children, despite advances in treatment.

David Levine, cofounder and president of the American Sustainable Business Council, leads an effort to encourage policymakers to address the environmental causes of childhood cancers.

He said elected officials need to step up essential research, regulate toxic chemical pollution and incentivize the production and use of safer chemicals.

Levine noted families living near areas of environmental pollution, such as the Houston Ship Channel, are more vulnerable to illness.

"If one looks to the channel in Texas, that is a tremendous hot spot," Levine described. "And the incidences of childhood cancer in those communities, communities of color, are much higher."

Research shows lower-income Americans are much more likely to live in highly polluted areas.

Levine said since 1975, new childhood cancer cases climbed 34%. Last year, more than 16,000 children and teens were diagnosed.

Juan Parras, executive director for Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services lives in Houston, home to multiple refineries.

He said it's documented that more people are dying from COVID-19 in areas with heavy air pollution.

"And it's probably because their health is already compromised," Parras asserted. "So they may be more susceptible to the COVID crisis because of that."

Nse Witherspoon, executive director for the Children's Environmental Health Network, said greater investment in research is needed to understand the role of environmental exposure, because childhood cancer is often preventable; not related to smoking or poor diet, as seen in adults.

"It's not surprising," Witherspoon lamented. "Because a lot of environmental exposure trends tend to almost be at the last tier of understanding, sadly; and maybe some of that is that resistance."

The Childhood Cancer Prevention Initiative, a coalition of science, health and business leaders, released the report, "Childhood Cancer: Cross-Sector Strategies for Prevention."

Massachusetts parents of children harmed by social media platforms are calling on Congress to advance the bipartisan "Kids Online Safety Act."

The bill would require platforms to default to their most restrictive parental controls, creating a "duty of care" to protect children but it has been months since an emotional Senate hearing, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg offered a public apology.

Deb Schmill, president of the Becca Schmill Foundation in Needham, whose daughter died of an accidental drug overdose after being relentlessly cyberbullied, said Congress cannot wait.

"It's going to be very upsetting to the parents, to so many people in this country who want to see this happen, they want to see Big Tech regulated," Schmill asserted. "They don't want to see kids dying every day."

Nearly 70 senators now co-sponsor the bill, including Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. A House committee is scheduled to take up the legislation this week. Tech companies have resisted wholesale change, citing free speech rights.

A growing amount of evidence points to the dangers of social media for children. Researchers said the addictive platforms incite bullying, substance abuse and other behaviors, which can lead to self-harm.

Schmill contended her 18-year-old daughter Becca would be alive today if greater protections and regulations on Big Tech were in place.

"We want to do it for our kids," Schmill emphasized. "We want to make sure that no other children die or are harmed by the same design features that have harmed our children."

The Kids Online Safety Act has undergone extensive revisions to earn the support of national LGBTQ+-plus groups concerned with censorship of content but groups in more conservative states with restrictive laws remain opposed, along with the ACLU.

Still, parents like Schmill argued, if passed, the legislation will hold social media companies liable for their products and help put the safety of young people over profits.


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More than 300,000 children have been dropped from Medicaid and Peach Care for kids since the pandemic ended.

A report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families pinpoints a nationwide trend: More than 4 million kids were left uninsured, soon after the COVID public-health emergency ended.

Georgia ranks third-highest for the number of children who have lost coverage.

Judy Fitzgerald, executive director of Voices for Georgia's Children, said many lost coverage because of procedural reasons rather than eligibility.

"They're not ineligible, but there was missing or incomplete paperwork, or what we know from families is, they felt like they didn't receive the notification, they didn't know," she said. "And so, there are a large number of children who are still eligible."

Fitzgerald said the repercussions of disenrollment can be dire, as when children can't get timely access to health-care services, they're more vulnerable to illnesses and developmental delays. The report also found parents with access to employer-sponsored health plans can't always afford the cost of adding their dependents.

While parents face higher income requirements for Medicaid, many children who lost coverage during the pandemic are still eligible. Fitzgerald said Voices for Georgia's Children is advocating for ways to increase enrollment for children, including a more simplified enrollment process and assistance from state agencies to expedite screening.

"So, we're asking the state to expand the kinds of organizations that could screen kids for eligibility, and enroll them in coverage temporarily while the state processes an official enrollment," she added, "and this is something called presumptive eligibility."

She said programs such as SNAP, and information through the Department of Labor, could be used to facilitate renewals. For families who don't qualify, she said, alternative coverage options are available through the insurance marketplace. Navigators through Georgians for a Healthy Future can help find them.

The Medicaid and Nevada Check Up programs had more than 13,000 fewer children enrolled last year than during the pandemic, according to new research from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

States have been reexamining Medicaid benefits since the pandemic ended, and disenrolling families based on their head-of-household's eligibility. Carissa Pearce, health policy manager for the Children's Advocacy Alliance, said this means some children were also dropped from coverage who are still eligible.

As a result, she said, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states to stop disenrolling and ensure they were looking at individual eligibility.

"Meaning that children would be screened separately from their parents, and that was a really important change," Pearce explained. "Specifically in Nevada, every person who had been disenrolled up to that point in August and September of 2023 were reinstated for their coverage, so that they could fix their system and then proceed with disenrollments."

Pearce said Nevada didn't start disenrolling children again until January of this year, giving families more time to check the requirements and submit the documentation to keep their coverage. But from January to February, about 1,500 Nevada children were dropped. She said it's important for families to see if their child is eligible for Nevada Check Up or consider a state marketplace insurance program at nevadahealthlink.com.

Tara Raines, deputy director of the Children's Advocacy Alliance, said her message to families is to not avoid medical appointments if they suspect their child may not be covered. She said there are other programs that families can be directed to, and thinks the state could do more to reach and inform families.

"I think a campaign that lets people know, 'Hey, you were disenrolled from Medicaid, here are your options,' would be incredibly helpful," she said, "and I don't know if that looks like partnering with school districts."

Raines said families' living conditions and circumstances vary in the Silver State. This could mean some may not have a permanent address, but should not mean they go without health coverage.


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