This study explores the influence of cognitive development and health self-perception on Brazilian students' beliefs on the causes of health and illness. Ninety-six randomly selected elementary and junior high school students from two schools in the north area of Rio De Janeiro County were interviewed individually by an investigator. Subjects who…

Based on the assumption that all American children deserve an opportunity to be born healthy and to grow up healthy, this guide presents the recommendations approved by the majority of the National Commission on Children for improving the health of the nation's pregnant women and children. The Commission's five recommendations are: (1) provide…

This Canadian journal contains 10 articles in English and French that: (1) profile the Lakeview Children's Centre child care facility in Langruth, Manitoba, focussing on rural communities; (2) report on the Those Who Care research study of day care work environments and caregiver characteristics; (3) discuss the SpeciaLink network of pioneering…

This publication offers practical guidance to help food service professionals provide sound nutrition to America's children and serves as a basis for the revision of U.S. Department of Agriculture meal patterns, menu planning guides, and the development of new recipes. The guide is organized into two sections. The first, "Implementation of…

This practicum was designed to create an organizational model that would set the stage for the creation of a comprehensive program of substance abuse treatment in a residential setting. The subject population was women ages 15 to 25 years, who had children or were pregnant and who demonstrated patterns of substance abusing behaviors. This writer…

On May 8, 1990, testimony concerning the Child Labor Act of 1990 was heard at a joint hearing of two U.S. Senate subcommittees. Opening statements by Senators Metzenbaum and Jeffords concerned: (1) the increase in child labor law violations since 1983; (2) the lack of increase in penalty fines since that time; (3) child death and injury during…

This paper reviews the contributions of the United States to the promotion of children's rights. In the 19th century, the United States created public schools to supplement family education. Societies to protect children were also established. Early in the 20th century, the government began a series of White House Conferences on Children and…

Under Oklahoma's new "in need of treatment" (INT) procedure, juvenile commitments have increased 10 times since 1983. About 8% of commitments are American Indian children. Generally, the mental health dilemma of Indian communities is characterized by multiple and interacting problems, acute symptoms masked by related problems such as…

The status of state maternity/parental leave laws throughout the United States is depicted in eight figures and three tables. Information is reported by state for maternity/parental leave laws, months of available leave, maternity/family illness laws, days of leave for family illness, temporary disability insurance laws, temporary disability…

This paper reviews social support programs designed to have a preventive impact on young adolescents. A review of supportive programs for reducing adolescents' risks of educational failure and poor health has identified a number of innovative school- and community-based support programs. School-based support programs are aimed at enhanced…

By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. This "Pocket Guide" is derived from the 2005 "KIDS COUNT Data Book." The following sections are included: (1) Essay; (2) Charts on 10 Key…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" uses data from a multilevel longitudinal study, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), to investigate possible effects of neighborhood residence on…

This study estimates the effect of maternal education on birth outcomes using data from the Vital Statistics Natality files for 1970 to 1999. It also assesses the importance of four potential channels through which maternal education may improve birth outcomes: use of prenatal care, smoking behavior, marriage, and fertility. In an effort to…

The United Nations Special Session on Children in May, 2002, was a landmark for children and human developmentthe first Special Session of the General Assembly devoted exclusively to children and the first to include them as official delegates. Participants came together to assess the progress made toward achieving the goals of the 1990 World…

Despite expansions in children's health insurance programs, rates of uninsurance in California continue to be high. Noting that absenteeism due to poor health is associated with school failure and asserting that schools offer an established framework on which to build a coordinated approach to enrolling children in health insurance programs, this…