The indicators focus on family stability, educational achievement, health, employment, and safety. They provide both trend data, using 1985 as the base year, and statistics for specific years. Findings reveal that modest national progress has occurred in outcomes for infants and young children. However, the risks and hardships experienced by adolescents continue to increase. A smaller percentage of teenagers are graduating from high school on time than were in 1985. In addition, juvenile violent crime arrest rates and the rate of adolescent deaths due to homicide, suicide, or accidents have both increased. Moreover, one-fourth of all adolescents contract a sexually transmitted disease before they graduate from high school. Furthermore, the disadvantages experienced by children who lie in low-income communities and who are racial and ethnic minorities remain severe and far more common than the risks and hardships experienced by American children as a whole. Findings suggest that changes in these patterns will require a significant reassessment of public policies, youth-serving institutions, and support systems, particularly as they affect adolescents and young families in the country's most disadvantaged communities. Figures, appended data and explanation of data sources, and list of each State's contact for the data collection