This landmark volume commemorates the fortieth anniversary of the Children’s Defense Fund, which has been an uncompromising champion of American youth for all of those years. Yet the book looks not to the past but at our current circumstances - and at the challenges we must meet now and in the future on behalf of our young people. The book examines critical issues - prenatal and infant health and development, early childcare and education, school reform, the achievement gap, vulnerable children, juvenile justice, and child poverty - and highlights crucial practical and policy measures we need to consider and undertake if we are to better serve American children.

An invaluable survey of the conditions facing American youth - and a call to action at the local, state, and national levels - Improving the Odds for America’s Children is an urgent, informative, and inspired volume that addresses shortcomings and challenges we cannot afford to ignore.