Childhood and adolescent obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions in the United States and are growing. The sedentary routines found in schools and in the home as well as the overexposure to unhealthy snacks and nonnutritional foods contribute to the pervasiveness of this disease that afflicts America's children. Obese children face…

The articles in this journal issue provide an overview of ways in which health services are presently delivered to children, youth, and pregnant women; the means by which these services are financed; and some of the major deficiencies in meeting the health needs of these groups. In the first article, the Center for the Future of Children presents…

Oregon has implemented a successful school-based clinic demonstration program. It was the first state to fund directly school-based clinics that provide comprehensive health services, including birth control counseling, to high school students. The program is administered through the Health Division of the Oregon Department of Human Resources,…

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report examines how child health services can be improved to support two related…

The youth development approach has gained traction over the past twenty-plus years, across a range of youth-serving fields, including public health. While it is important for Adolescent Health Coordinators, other practitioners and policy makers focused on youth to be familiar with youth development concepts, it is critically important that they…

Millions of American children and youth, especially low-income and minority children, lack health insurance and access to appropriate health care services. This publication addresses several major public policy topics related to improving children's health, and is designed to serve as a resource for policymakers who want to improve access to…

This guide was developed to assist states in addressing the national workforce development objectives for the health professions and for employees of public health agencies in order to achieve the National Healthy People 2010 workforce objectives. The guide is organized in four sections. The opening section is a "how to" resource for…

The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau has launched a five-year initiative that will support state efforts to build comprehensive early childhood service systems. This initiative--the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Initiative (SECCS)--provides two year planning grants followed by three year implementation grants to the 50 state…

If early childhood systems are to be effective at the population level then they must be able to provide family-centered care to all the racial, ethnic and cultural groups that they serve. Despite major policy driven and technological advances in healthcare, health disparities across different races and ethnicities persist. For example, the infant…

In 2003, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released a "Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Health." In recognition of the critical role states play in the development of early childhood initiatives and of the unique contributions that state Title V programs can make to these initiatives, the Bureau operationalized their…