and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. additional support for "life on parolewas provided by the w.k. kellogg foundation and the john d. and catherine t. macarthu foundation. (birds chirping) >> narrator: for a year and a connecticut as they lesonople in and were put on parole. >> i've been incarcerated for a little over eight-and-a-half years. the judge gave me ten years, ind thought it was the ef the world, and here i am, ten days i'm going to be walking out the door. starting my lifever. >> narrator: the state is trying to use paroleo as part of an effort reduce its prison population. >> hen i get out, you know, hopefully i get out of here and stay out of here. i've beehere before, so it's easier said than done. >> narrator: it is now giving parole to more of its prisoners than ever before. >> what are you going to d differently to stay out? >> is abide by all the rules. (laughs) >> always good, all right, goo luck. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. how to keep them from returning to prison. >> i'm proud to be graduating

and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. >> im transgender. i was born male and identify as female. but i like to say that i'm a girl stuck in a boy's body. i transitioned when i was six or seven to more of a girl, and now i'm comp... well, almost completely female. second grade was the last year of liam, and this year i changed my name officially. so i've changed my name, my clothes, my room, and my pronouns. and that's really all you need,f exce the fifth one that i still need: surgery and medicine to help me look like a girl. >> narrator: just generation ago, it was adults, not children, who changed genders, usually late in life and often in the shadows. (applause) but today, as transgender adults gain wider acceptance, many children are transioning too, with new medical options and at younger and younger ages. this is a new generation "growing up trans." >> there's a big one! >> naima, naima, do ke the bubbles? >> (laughing) >> let's count to ten, ready? one, two, three... >> count, naima! >> four... >> november 7, 2009. she's four. ready

and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from a jon and hagler. >> for more on this andntline programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. frontline's "growing up trans" is available on dvd. to order, visit shoppbs.org or call 1-800-play-pbs. frontline is also available for download on itunes. the faces you know the news you rely on, anytime you want ywhere you are. man: i really value pbs's news coverage because i think it's very rigorous journalism woman: clear and concise reporting man: both thoughtful and thought provoking woman: mind blowingly honest and open woman: information that will help me make a good decision with so much at stake, this election year one place has ws you need to decide pbs fox: many communities around the world see disease and mental illness not as somhing to be treated, but as something to be feared. as a result, many suffering from curable conditions are stigmatized within their communities, butnd through education organizing, some people are challenging these stigmas and addressing previously taboo health issues. in our first segment,