This Children's Defense Fund 1997 report on the state of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by all sectors of society. The introduction discusses Americans' values and presents 25 tips for effective child advocacy. The report then details the following: (1) the impact of welfare reform on children and families; (2) family income, including child support, homelessness, child poverty, and alternatives to welfare; (3) health, including children's health insurance, immunization gains, maternal and child health, and quality of health care; (4) child care and early education, including child care needs and quality, the impact of welfare reform, and local initiatives; (5) food and nutrition, including the impact of food stamp reductions, problems of immigrant children, the Summer Food Service Program, and inadequate funding for Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program; (6) children and families in crisis, including child abuse and neglect, foster care, and the growing incidence of children with serious emotional disabilities; (7) violence to and by children, including prevention efforts; (8) educational problems; and (9) adolescent pregnancy prevention and youth development, including substance abuse. A lengthy appendix provides tabulated data on children nationwide and by state, covering areas such as poverty, maternal and infant health, adolescent childbearing, youth unemployment, government aid participation, child support, Head Start enrollment, child abuse and neglect, and firearm deaths.(KB)