AGP Executive Report

Online Safety: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says he is still weighing a blanket social media ban for minors. The Senate has passed a bill restricting under-18s’ access to high-risk services, but the House has yet to act. Daycare Oversight: An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found hundreds of Georgia daycares kept quality ratings despite incidents that harmed or endangered children. In one case, a toddler suffered chemical burns from bleach left in a classroom. Early Learning: Singapore preschools will have to give educators at least two hours a week for planning and family engagement, within their regular work hours. LGBTQ+ Rights: Hungary’s parliament is due to vote on lifting restrictions on LGBTQ+ content accessible to children, in a major proposed reversal of a 2021 law.

School Safety: The Philippines launched a nationwide campaign against bullying, violence and online exploitation, with sessions for parents on digital risks and how to report concerns. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says his administration is still weighing a blanket social-media ban for minors after the Senate approved restrictions for under-18s; the House has yet to pass a matching bill. Foster Care: A Charlotte-area symposium will connect foster families and child-welfare groups as Mecklenburg County faces a sharp shortage: 67 licensed homes for about 400 children in care. Family Finances: A new guide warns that raising children can consume nearly a fifth of household income, but urges parents to keep retirement saving on track while balancing childcare and education costs.

Children’s Health: Malaysia’s education minister says school closures during haze will follow air-quality and health guidance, urging parents to keep unwell children home. Online Safety: Türkiye’s ban on social media for under-15s is due to take effect Nov. 1, raising questions about age checks and children’s privacy. Care and Support: A $5 million donation will help fund a new South Carolina behavioral-health hospital, aiming to expand access for children and adults. San Fernando officials are also working to strengthen adoption and child-protection services. Autism Awareness: A mother whose autistic, non-verbal 3-year-old nearly drowned after escaping is urging greater understanding of “elopement,” which can happen in seconds and should not be mistaken for poor parenting. Co-Parenting: Rachel Kolisi attended ex-husband Siya’s rugby homecoming with their children, while Ben Affleck joked his kids rate his parenting at 40% of Jennifer Garner’s.

Children Online: Türkiye plans age checks and a social-media ban for under-15s from Nov. 1, as teenagers report algorithms keep serving them misogynistic content even when they avoid it. A separate report says ChatGPT’s safeguards for teens who express suicidal thoughts failed to alert parents, renewing questions about how platforms protect young users. Support for New Parents: A Louisiana home-visit program that trains and supports new parents is expanding. Adoption and Identity: Officials in Nagaland say families need clearer information about legal adoption, which protects children’s rights, identity and family history beyond informal kinship care. Fatherhood: Prince Harry says becoming a dad was harder than he expected, calling it an “emotional rollercoaster” and wishing he’d known that before his first child.

Digital Safety: Türkiye’s under-15 social media ban is due to take effect Nov. 1, as child-safety advocates urge policymakers to get ahead of emerging risks from AI. Education & Inclusion: Malaysia’s 2027 budget raises education funding to nearly RM69 billion and doubles school repair funding; officials also say young people with disabilities need better training and workplace support. Family Support: Penang plans to widen fertility-treatment access and strengthen childcare and family-friendly workplace support. Adoption: A new report on Korean adoptees describes fabricated records and families separated by an overseas adoption system that treated some beloved children as orphans. Child Wellbeing: Experts say parents should talk about mental health before a crisis, while allowing children to work through manageable challenges can help build resilience.

Family Finances: Malaysia’s 2027 budget raises the individual tax-relief limit to RM12,000 and adds relief for postnatal care and children’s tuition. Children Online: Turkey’s ban on social media for under-15s is set to take effect Nov. 1, as debate grows over how best to protect young users. Back to School: Experts say a return to routine can be tough for children; parents who spot signs of struggle should raise concerns constructively with the school. Child Health: Doctors urge handwashing, good ventilation and keeping sick children home as autumn brings more respiratory infections. Care and Adoption: More than 3,000 children in the UK are reportedly caught in unstable placements amid a shortage of adoptive families. Proposed Head Start changes could also eliminate places for children experiencing homelessness in Virginia. New-Parent Wellbeing: A reminder that postpartum depression can affect fathers, too, and may go unnoticed.

Adoption and Foster Care: More than 3,000 children in England are waiting for adoptive families, with some facing years of instability as adopter registrations and approvals fall. In Mexico, authorities are seeking relatives of two infants in state care to support family reunification. Children Online: A new debate over AI safety draws lessons from the slow response to social media risks, while European lawmakers propose restricting social media accounts for under-13s. Child Health: Filipino child stunting rose to 25.3% in 2025, prompting calls for better coordination of nutrition programs and support for mothers. Research also links positive parenting in early childhood with stronger brain responses tied to reward. Support for Families: A new playdate café in Heswall aims to ease parental isolation and offer support, including sessions for families with special educational needs and disabilities. Family Travel: Ryanair has removed its £8 fee for parents to sit with children aged 2 to 11, following scrutiny from the UK competition regulator.

Safer Infant Sleep: Virginia is using Safe Sleep Awareness Month to urge caregivers to put babies to sleep in their own approved crib or bassinet, amid continuing sleep-related infant deaths. Support for Families: Oklahoma received more than $9.5 million to expand voluntary home visits, connecting families with nurses, social workers and educators from pregnancy through early childhood. Child Nutrition: Child stunting in the Philippines rose to 25.3% in 2025, up from 23.6% in 2023; a think tank is calling for shared data and better-coordinated nutrition programs for mothers and children. Safety and Shelter: An $8 million investment will fund a 24-hour safe space in Thompson, Manitoba, for Indigenous women and children facing violence, with parenting support and help finding housing. Children Online: A Qatar seminar called for stronger privacy and safety protections for children online, while urging families and schools to balance digital learning with screen-time limits.

Family Finances: Malaysia’s 2027 budget raises individual tax relief to RM12,000 and expands deductions to include postnatal care and children’s tuition, offering some help amid cost-of-living pressures. Early Learning: Guam has opened applications for Head Start for eligible families with children ages 3 to 5. Online Safety: The Philippine Senate approved a bill to restrict minors’ access to designated high-risk digital services; separately, a proposed EU law would bar social media accounts for under-13s and require parent-managed accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds. Foster Care: Kentucky has more than 8,700 children in foster care but about 4,600 licensed homes, prompting a renewed call for carers, especially for teens and sibling groups. Positive Parenting: A new study links positive parenting in early childhood with stronger brain reward responses, pointing to a possible connection with children’s mental health.

Family Support: South Carolina’s Tamassee Hope Village honored attorney Pat McKee for helping secure the nonprofit’s future. It supports mothers recovering from addiction while keeping their children with them. Digital Safety: The UAE’s Child Safety Organisation is training parents on communicating with children, device controls and age ratings for games and films. Childcare: New Hampshire still faces a childcare shortage, with new programs struggling to fill the gap. Foster Care: 8,700 Kentucky children are reportedly waiting for foster placements, while a Colorado pumpkin patch is offering free visits and pumpkins to foster children and children with special needs. School Wellbeing: Connecticut public-school students can now get free breakfast regardless of family income, a program expected to reach about 500,000 children. Online Protection: Concerns about children’s online safety are drawing support across party lines in the U.S.; Kazakhstan plans to restrict social-media sign-ups for under-16s. Girls’ Safety: UNICEF is urging stronger parenting and child-protection efforts to help end child marriage.

Teen Safety: Common Sense Media’s test of ChatGPT for Teens, using more than 4,000 prompts, found safeguards did not reliably flag self-harm and eating-disorder discussions or direct teens to professional help. OpenAI disputes the watchdog’s assessment. Kazakhstan is also moving to restrict social-media sign-ups for under-16s. Early Years: Rajasthan is piloting a program to link health checks, nutrition, immunization and developmental support for children from birth to age three. Family Support: A new MindSpace group in England will help separated parents navigate co-parenting, legal and financial questions, and children’s emotions. Foster Care: North Yorkshire is seeking more foster carers for 484 children in care, encouraging empty nesters to consider the role. School Meals: A global update says 418 million children now receive meals at school, up 30 million from before the pandemic. Head Start: Advocates warn proposed federal changes could weaken the program and its mental-health support for children.

Child Safety Online: As children turn to AI, advocates warn that lessons from years of delayed social-media safeguards should prompt earlier action. A survey found 81% of parents support new protections agreed by Meta and U.S. states, and want them extended to other platforms. Support for Families: Idaho received nearly $5 million in federal funding for voluntary home visits that support parents and young children, the state’s largest such award to date. Surrogacy Abuse Case: A California couple with 21 children, most born through surrogacy, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse. Authorities say cameras captured alleged abuse by caregivers and one of the parents. Foster Care: Kentucky reports 8,700 children waiting for foster placements; a separate federal audit says Arkansas mishandled child-abuse allegations. Celebrity Families: Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra announced they are expecting a second child. Ben Affleck says shared custody is why he chooses to work in Los Angeles and stay close to his children.

Parenting & Safety: A cyberattack on Arizona’s court system exposed personal data for 1.3 million people, including 150,000 foster care reports—raising fresh concerns for families navigating child welfare. Child Welfare & Adoption: A documentary filmmaker revisits her own Korean adoption history after discovering falsified documents, identity swaps, and a long search—spotlighting how adoption records can shape a child’s sense of self. Online Risks for Kids: The U.S., China, and EU are charting different paths to regulate AI, with growing focus on security and how children may be protected as AI use expands. Family Life & Boundaries: A parenting piece argues that constant “outside noise” from apps, books, and forums can drown parents’ instincts—encouraging trust in what’s happening at home. Community & Care: Arkansas highlights foster care needs while recognizing an adoption advocate, and a shelter story reminds readers that frightened animals (and kids) often need patience, not pressure. Celeb Parenting: Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra announced they’re expecting their second child, sharing the news with their daughter.

School-family partnership: The Philippines’ DepEd is rolling out its Kaagapay Program nationwide, training parents and caregivers to help prevent bullying and support positive discipline as schools respond to recent violence. Local growth & kids’ safety: In Coweta County, District 2 candidates clash over where data centers should go, with one urging industrial placement away from homes and schools. Child welfare paperwork crisis: Nevada lawmakers are pushing to fix a months-long Social Security card snag leaving Clark County foster kids stuck without documents needed for health coverage and placements. Foster care & legal fights: The U.S. Supreme Court declined a new challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act, keeping ICWA protections in place for Native children. Online safety for kids: A Supreme Court–level reminder of how fast systems move: South Carolina’s school choice program was hit by a phishing scam targeting vendors’ banking info. Student safety & sexual violence: Cornell students and dozens of groups plan an open town hall on sexual violence and accountability after a lawsuit alleging a 2024 Chi Phi gang rape. Parenting support for students: Florence-Darlington Tech received nearly $2M to expand childcare help for student-parents. Community giving: Lawrence’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade names three local children’s charities as beneficiaries, including a foster-care and family-support organization.

School-home partnership: The Philippines’ DepEd is rolling out its Kaagapay Program nationwide to help parents and guardians tackle bullying, improve discipline, and spot behavioral issues early. Parenting routines as ritual: A psychology look at why some families still cover schoolbooks with brown paper—less about “control,” more about comfort, nostalgia, and predictability. Health check push: Hong Kong’s health authorities urge Breast Cancer Awareness Month support through lifestyle changes and risk-based screenings. Foster care holiday support: Ohio’s Bike Lady is relaunching a holiday bike drive for children in foster care, aiming to assemble 500 bikes this season. Care system gaps: England’s NHS and local authorities are funding new “Appropriate Places of Care” homes for children needing therapeutic support outside inpatient mental health services. Adoption controversy: Campaigners in the UK are calling to end non-consensual adoptions, citing harm to mothers, grandmothers, and adoptees. Custody spotlight: Halle Berry is seeking to restore a 50/50 custody arrangement in her legal fight over their son, Maceo. Online safety debate: Australia’s under-16 social media ban is under fire after studies found little change in teen usage, raising questions for the UK’s planned similar rules.

Teachers’ Day (Nigeria): Educators are calling out the reality of underpaid, overburdened teaching as Nigeria marks World Teachers’ Day, with leaders stressing that schools can’t replace the people who show up for kids. Autism & Diagnosis: A new discussion highlights that autism diagnosis still isn’t based on a single medical test—clinicians rely on observed behavior and input from parents and teachers. Parenting in the spotlight (royals & co-parenting): Reports say Harry and Meghan are spending more time apart amid packed schedules, while Kim Kardashian says she and Ye are “aligned” on North’s music career. Adoption & identity: California adoptees are pushing again for access to original birth certificates after a bill was defeated. Child safety & support: Harrison County, Mississippi leaders ask for a state CPS investigation after alleged child protection failures. Early learning funding: North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein urges HHS to protect Head Start standards as federal changes are considered. Everyday family life: A local clothing-donation partnership in Fontana helps outfit children and families through community partners.