The challenges to Congress posed by the threat of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) to children are to support the development of more humane and cost-effective treatment and care, and to stop the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The rate of reported HIV infection and cases of AIDS among children and youth is increasing. The geographic spread of reported cases is also increasing. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to HIV infection. The high prevalence of HIV poses a continuing threat to hemophiliacs. The care of HIV-infected children poses an increasing challenge to the health care and social service systems. More humane and cost-effective care is needed. The population of drug abusers shows the largest increases in new HIV infection, with grave impact on women of childbearing years and young children. Improved and expanded drug abuse prevention and treatment efforts are required. While state-mandated AIDS education programs in the schools have increased, adolescents do not seem to change their high-risk behaviors. The 1986 Presidential Commission report, "Confronting AIDS," concluded that the Federal response to the AIDS epidemic remains too uneven, and lacks coordinated Federal policies and leadership. A graph showing the reported cases of AIDS among children and youth, August 1987-July 1988, is included. A list of 44 footnote references is also included. (FMW)