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 urges citizens to work to improve the lives of American children. The six chapters of the report address the following: (1) family income, including strong economic growth, the extent of child poverty, the working poor, and legislative initiatives; (2) child health, focusing on the problem of uninsured children, the Child Health Insurance Program, and the major health issues for the future; (3) child care, including difficulties families have in locating affordable quality care, and policy developments; (4) education, including lagging poor/minority student performance, lagging international performance, school reform initiatives, and recent developments in school finance litigation and desegregation; (5) children and families in crisis, focusing on expected crises during the next millennium such as parental substance abuse, domestic violence, foster care and adoption, family homelessness, and serious child emotional disturbances, and on potential practices for finding effective solutions; and (6) juvenile justice and youth development, including juvenile victims and offenders, juveniles in confinement, minorities and girls in the juvenile justice system, children and guns, school violence, media violence, youth employment, and legislative developments. Each chapter concludes with a proposed action agenda for 2000. The report's two appendices provide tabulated data on children nationwide and by state, covering areas such as poverty, maternal and infant health, adolescent childbearing, youth unemployment, government aid participation, child support, Head Start enrollment, child abuse and neglect, and firearm deaths. (KB)