Brazil has major economic disparities between different segments of the population. The cities have large areas of slums. An estimated 800,000 children live in poverty in Rio De Janeiro. Many go to the streets to survive. Their occupations range from shining shoes or selling flowers to engaging in drug trafficking, petty theft, street robberies, or prostitution. The smoking of coca paste and the use of inhalants, marijuana, the benzodiazepine drug Rohypnol, and other drugs are common. Street children have also often engaged in risky sexual behaviors. The risk of exposure to HIV is a source of increasing concern. The country has many proposals and programs for addressing these problems, but only minimal progress has been achieved. The programs are of four types: correctional, rehabilitative, outreach, and preventive. The most comprehensive effort is the National Movement for Street Children, a nationwide coalition of street children and adult educators founded in 1985. Notes and 42 references