This report examines the Annie E. Casey Foundation's work with children and families in Camden, New Jersey, providing a framework for assessing public and private investments, policies, and practices undertaken on behalf of Camden's families and neighborhoods. Camden is part of the Casey Foundation's Making Connections initiative, which advances the premise that children do better when their families are strong, families do better when they live in supportive neighborhoods, and communities need enabling connections to nurture strong families. Chapter 1 describes Camden's current situation. Once a bustling business district, today's Camden has few businesses and few middle income residents. Its badly deteriorated environment makes life difficult for residents and makes it nearly impossible to bring the businesses and middle income residents back. Camden's schools are inadequate. Public safety and health are fragile. Chapter 2 examines the causes of this situation, explaining that Camden is trapped by socioeconomic and fiscal cycles, set off by post-war exodus, and exacerbated by government actions and political climate. Chapter 3 describes key elements to improvement for Camden, examining necessary objectives for creating an actual turnaround plan (e.g., eliminating the city's structural deficit and facilitating the inflow of private capital). (Contains an extensive bibliography). (SM)