The introduction presents a generally pessimistic assessment of Federal policies and budget actions in their impact on children. Congressional plans are viewed as shredding the Federal safety net for poor families and their children; this aggravates the increasing gap between the rich and poor in America and promises to fuel the factors that foster dysfunctional families and associated delinquent and victimized children. Following the introduction, separate sections provide detailed analyses and proposals pertinent to family income and child poverty, child health, child care and early childhood development, education, adolescent pregnancy prevention and youth development, violence against and by children, and child and families in crisis. The chapter on violence against and by children notes that gun violence against and among children showed no sign of abating in 1995. Overall, children remain far more likely to be the victims of violent crime than offenders, however. This chapter advises that to stem the tide of violence against and among children, Americans must begin to reweave the fabric of community by making sure children receive time, attention, and moral guidance from caring adults. The report is encouraged by the broad range of efforts to strengthen community networks of support and care for children initiated and strengthened during 1995. Appended data on the state of child development in the Nation and the States and a subject index