This second biennial report on children presents information pertaining to children, discusses the implications and use of such information in planning for children, describes certain historical trends affecting children, and provides updates of statistics and significant expansions on many topics covered in the 1975 report. Part A examines basic trends from a demographic perspective, focusing on trends in the general population, components of growth in the population, and the family. Part B describes the status of children, conditions affecting them, and programs designed to benefit the family and children. Part C, a detailed discussion of the use of information, describes three case studies illustrating the use of information about children in decision making. Numerous graphs and charts provide information pertaining to topics such as birth, fertility and mortality rates, population growth, income and unemployment rates, marriage rates, adolescent pregnancy, nutrition, mental health, children in single parent families, and social and economic data on families. The appendix includes a list of federal programs. (CM)