The birth of a child can be a simultaneously joyous and challenging time for families. Virtually all parents will struggle with the enormous physical and emotional demands of parenting a very young child, but for too many California families those challenges are additionally compounded by poverty, housing instability, lack of social support, or…

In 2008, the Shreveport-Bossier Community Foundation selected education, health, and poverty as funding priorities. But the foundation realized that it needed more specific guidelines on how best to distribute grants. RAND developed a framework for making investment decisions that incorporates the best of traditional decision making approaches.…

Early childhood is a critical time for cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Many states have invested in comprehensive early childhood care and education systems that offer a wide range of supports and services to families from the prenatal period through school entry. Home visiting programs are an important component of state early…

"Kids Count in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. "Kids Count in Colorado!" informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as…

"New Jersey Kids Count 2011" again documents both advances and setbacks in key areas that affect child well-being--poverty, health, child protection, education, including early learning, and adolescent well-being. To better gauge New Jersey's progress in essential areas, a "New Jersey Kids Count Report Card" that identifies…

This report presents selected 1996 educational and social statistics that provide information about the status of children in Nevada. State statistics are in some cases compared to national statistics. The first part presents facts about education in Nevada with regard to student characteristics, enrollment, racial and ethnic populations, high…

Literature on the American family that is pertinent to pediatrics is reviewed. Family characteristics considered include fertility, family structure, divorce, maternal employment and child care arrangements, family wealth and poverty, governmental assistance, and adolescent sexuality. Other topics of discussion include problematic effects of…

This Children's Defense Fund 1998 report on the well being of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by all sectors of society. The introduction describes health and educational outcomes for poor children and calls for adults to redirect their priorities and develop solutions to these problems. The…

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) 1996 report on the state of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by early childhood advocates, parents, and all sectors of society. The introduction describes in general the crises faced by children and calls for adults to recommit their energies to providing solutions…

This Children's Defense Fund 1997 report on the state of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by all sectors of society. The introduction discusses Americans' values and presents 25 tips for effective child advocacy. The report then details the following: (1) the impact of welfare reform on children…

This report on the well-being of America's children focuses on the need for commitment to children by all sectors of society. The report's foreword describes the current situation for poor children in America, compares U.S. policies to those of other industrialized countries, presents the Action Agenda to Leave No Child Behind for 2000-2001, and…

This report on the well-being of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by all sectors of society. The introduction describes health and educational outcomes for poor children and maintains that preparing all of the nation's children for the future and protecting them in the present is the greatest human…