This year, the United States wrestled with how to balance accountability and compassion. Both elements are essential in criminal justice, immigration policy, and poverty-fighting. But how to tell when to apply which—and how much? Government tactics produced mixed results, while Christian ministries worked to provide challenging, personal, and spiritual help to those who need it.

As a former foster parent and Christian child-placement agency worker in Texas, Angie Kline spent time in the early 2000s with girls who had lived in larger group homes. She said the teenage girls were upfront about the sexual experimentation that happened in those settings. “They’re so set up with emotional need that any kind of sexual interaction is really distorted for them,” Kline said. “So, the more kids you have with those kinds of issues, the more chance you have of sexual acting out.”

Philip Pattison credits the longevity of his family’s relationship with the California welfare system to their babysitter. Their second foster child was especially difficult—a 7-year-old girl who had suffered abuse and regularly acted out by hitting and kicking people and breaking things around the house. Hiring a teenager to look after her wasn’t an option.

Seattle plans to stop funding another tiny house village for the homeless after months of fighting with the property’s managers. It will be the second time the city has closed down a tiny house development.

Los Angeles voided more than 2 million citations and arrest warrants for minor infractions related to homelessness last month. City Attorney Mike Feuer said the step would “help address root causes of poverty and homelessness” and allow city officials to focus on more important public safety issues.

Since leaving the Tennessee Prison for Women after 15 years, Cyntoia Brown-Long has had to adjust to things like buying personal items and riding in cars. “Ugh, why are tissues so expensive?” she said in a phone interview. Her husband calls her a back-seat driver, but after 15 years of rarely being in cars, she gets nervous on every ride.

U.S. aid dollars have made a difference in El Salvador. Up until this past spring, multiple U.S. departments were funding programs to prevent violence in schools, stop illegal drug trafficking, teach agricultural techniques, and increase government transparency. The U.S.