This report and briefing book aim to inform Californians about the condition of the state's children in 1989. An initial set of anecdotes about Californian children and parents is followed by an overview, which discusses characteristics of the state's children, accountability in regards to spending on children and measuring their success, reasons for writing the report, the growing momentum for improving the conditions of the state's children, and the report's contents. The overview is followed by a "Report Card," which gives the state's efforts to meet children's needs a grade of D. The report card also provides statistics regarding several of the 27 indicators on which the state's preformance was rated. Subsequent sections of the report concern the costs for Californians of neglecting their children, ways to make California a "Class A" state for children and families, an agenda for action, and brief discussions of each of the 27 indicators used to prepare the report card on the state's performance. An appendix discusses limitations of the data in the project and the methodology used in the report. A seperate publication offers a brief overview of the report. (RH)