This document contains the proceedings from the Conference of State and Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors and Faculties of Graduate Programs in Public Health Nutrition designed to improve participants' proficiency in data management. It includes an introduction by Mildred Kaufman, a conference agenda, and the following presentations: (1) "Demystifying Data" (Jerianne Heimendinger and Judith Brown); (2) "Nutrition Services in State and Local Public Health Agencies--1985 Preliminary Report of State Survey" (Mildred Kaufman); (3) "Objectives for the Nation: Where Are We in 1985?" (J. Michael McGinnis); (4) "Data Needs To Measure State and Local Program Accomplishments within the Context of Monitoring the Objectives for the Nation" (Mary Peoples-Sheps); (5) "Available National Health and Nutrition Data Bases Useful for Nutrition" (Mary Grace Kovar); (6) "Use and Availability of National Health and Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)" (Robert Murphy); (7) "USDA'S National Nutrient Data Bank and Nationwide Food Consumption Surveys" (Betty Peterkin); (8) "Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Foundation Reporting System" (Sue Madden, Mary Beth Kough, and Emily Brandenfels); (9) "Open Forum for Participants and Speakers--Question/Response" (Molly Graber); (10) "The North Carolina Approach to Using Data for Community Diagnosis and Program Development" (Charles Rothwell); (11) "Current Status of 1985 Recommended Dietary Allowances and Potential Uses for Setting Public Health Nutrition Policy" (Henry Kamis); (12) "Met and Unmet Data Needs in Nutrition Status Monitoring: Where Are We from the National Perspective?" (Grace Ostenso); (13) "State-Centers for Disease Control Partnerships--CDC Nutrition Surveillance Systems" (Frederick Trowbridge); (14) "Effective Application and Utilization of Data Available for Program Management" (Sheryl Lee and Faye Wong); (15) "Turning Data into Gold" (Susan Foerster); (16) "Private Sector Resources" (J. Michael McKechnie); (17) "Public Sector Resources for Financing Nutrition Services" (Claude Earl Fox and Agnes Hinton); and (18) "Turning Data into Gold" (Jeffrey Taylor). Observations from state and local health agencies are given by Janice Dodds (New York), Nancy Robinett-Weiss (Texas), and Katherine Cairns (St. Paul/Ramsey County, Minnesota). A section on Work Group Reports: Measuring Achievement of the 1990 Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Objectives for the Nation at State and Local Levels includes reports in nine areas of health promotion. Concluding remarks, lists of program participants, and 55 figures are included. (NB)