Following an introductory chapter that describes the research study methodology, a sociodemographic portrait of California's children focuses on population dynamics, household composition, age structure, race and ethnicity, and location of children (urban areas, cities, and counties). The next two chapters explore family life (family structure, teenage motherhood, and parental employment) and economic status. Subsequent chapters deal with child care and early childhood programs, education, how children spend their time, how community factors effect children's well-being, health, mental health, child abuse, and child welfare services. The final chapters examine juveniles, delinquency, and the law; policies for children with multiple needs; and State policymaking for children. Supplemental data on the research study is appended. 109 tables, 34 figures.