To make positive change for kids, you need to know where things stand, what’s working and what needs to be improved. The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book offers both data and context for 10 indicators of child well-being—and drills down to a state and local level. This year’s essay offers a “roadmap for reform” in juvenile justice. CFK summer intern Maria Allen attended the June 2008 launch event in DC and has this overview.

Quality child care matters for kids and parents—just ask single mother Marla Campos, who spends $900 a month for child care. Although her two daughters are eligible for state-subsidized child care, they are among the more than 360,000 kids nationally who are stuck on state waiting lists because there isn’t enough funding. In California, the parent-led activist organization Parent Voices is working to change this.

If you work with teens with disabilities, you’ll want to know about the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work (TTW) program. Its Youth Transition portion offers funds for organizations that help students receiving Social Security disability benefits find employment. Is it right for you? Melody Goodspeed, Youth Transition Specialist for TTW answers some common questions about the funding.

Finding quality, affordable child care can be difficult for any parent. For those with a special needs child, it can also be a very confusing and emotional experience. Rebecca Freshour looks at what the law says, and what parents need to know to find care for their children.

Congress recently allocated $750 million over five years to promote marriage and fatherhood initiatives among low-income groups. As a result, federally-funded marriage promotion programs are springing up around the country, including in Washington, DC. Roshin Mathew, an Emerson Hunger Fellow working with Connect for Kids this year, wondered about the connection between marriage promotion and better lives for low-income children. Here are her findings, and her thoughts.

By many measures, girls are on a roll. In terms of academic achievement, college attendance and completion, and the opportunities that are open to them, girls are poised for success. But some experts see worrying signs that girls are also facing new pressures—and responding with violent behavior usually associated with boys. Andrea Grazzini Walstrom takes a look at the issue.

It�s a perennial struggle for military families, but one that is hitting home for more and more of them as soldiers rotate back to the home front from Iraq and Afghanistan: the sometimes painful adjustments that come with the return of a long-absent parent. Rebecca Freshour looks at some of the issues.

Pete Wright, an attorney with decades of experience in special education law—and his own memories of standing up before the U.S. Supreme Court to argue a case—attended oral arguments last week in the most recent special education case to reach the highest court. Wright shared his impressions with Connect for Kids Editor Susan Phillips.

Last month Connect for Kids reported on Teenangels, young volunteers who help their peers understand the importance of Internet safety. What other efforts are underway to help protect children and youth from being exploited through social networking online? Cecilia Garcia reports.

While parents worry about potential dangers to their children lurking in our web-surfing, IM-ing, text-messaging culture, their efforts to help can be hampered by their own lack of knowledge. The Teenangels program � which trains young people to protect their peers online � is one way around that problem. Tamekia Reece takes a look.