At age 13, Becca Robison dreams of becoming an astronaut. In the meantime, she's sharing her dream with hundreds of young girls in Utah. Connect for Kids intern Abigail Holt explains.

It started as a one-week experiment, 15 years ago. But today, Project LIFT continues to offer homeless children in New York City an education in the dance, and much more. Connect for Kids intern Diana Strumbos reports.

Schools and other organizations have different strategies for encouraging young people to perform community service. In Denver, Colo., one of the most successful has been a program that rewards service with adventure -- whitewater rafting through the heart of the city itself. Robert Ebisch reports.

Want to brief lawmakers on new findings or policy options? Our elected officials have little time to investigate a lot of topics in depth, so come prepared to grab their attention and provide them with good one or two-page summaries. Jack Tweedie, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, says: "Talk to them like you would to your mother or brother, not your dissertation advisor. In writing, use plain language, graphs, and illustrations. Real-life examples that demonstrate conclusions are best." Learn more in the spring 2004 issue of the Harvard Family Research Project.

If you want to add a mentoring component to your after-school program, the After-School Program Clearinghouse from MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership can give you guidance and tools to get started.

Family Initiative's Action Kit has a step-by-step guide and tools to take action and create better quality, more affordable child care choices for families.

Talking with your kids when they are young can build the patterns and relationships you can rely on when they're older and confronted with alcohol or smoking. Building Blocks for the Future's newly revised Web site has concrete ideas for how to start a good conversation with a 3-year-old, or news parents can use about the impact of TV and computers on young children's development.

Too many children who go into foster care emerge years later with few skills, no high school diploma, and serious educational deficits. Letitia L. Star reports on a Chicago program that helps.

The Urban Institute reports that interviews with 13 state SCHIP administrators in September and October 2003 indicate that cuts to SCHIP in FY 2003 were more widespread than in 2002. Two of the study states reduced benefits for children and two-thirds reported new efforts to simplify enrollment and renewal procedures. Large states such as California and New York implemented innovative initiatives to enroll more children or dramatically expanded outreach spending. Every state participating in the survey reported that SCHIP programs retained strong political support and fared quite well, relative to other state programs.

"Babies are born to be breastfed" is the slogan for the new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' campaign that encourages first-time mothers to breastfeed exclusively for at least six months. The National Women's Health Information Center's free breastfeeding help line is at 1-800-994-WOMAN.