This plan reflects the culmination of a number of significant activities over the past year. On March 20, 2000, a White House meeting launched a new public-private effort to improve the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of children with emotional and behavioral conditions. Serious concerns were raised about the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of emotional and behavioral difficulties in children, as well as the need to take steps to address this issue. On June 26, 2000, the Surgeon General's Listening Session on Children's Mental Health was held. On September 18 and 19, 2000, The Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: Developing a National Action Agenda was held in Washington, D.C. This multidisciplinary conference developed recommendations for a National Action Agenda on Children's Health. A related meeting on Psychopharmacology for Young Children: Clinical Needs and Research Opportunities was held by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Food and Drug Administration on October 2 and 3, 2000. Recommendations from these two meetings became the basis for the national action agenda presented in this current report. This report presents the goals of the action plan and the action steps for meeting each goal. Following a conference summary, a description of conference proceedings covers the reports of three panels. These panels focused on identifying, recognizing, and referring children with mental health needs; health service disparities (access, quality, and diversity); and the state of evidence on treatments, services, systems of care, and financing. 14 references and an appended policy brief