Keeping Tomorrow in Sight: Communities Building Futures by Improving the Health of Mothers and Children

In the United States today, we have the technology and expertise to save babies, but the highest rate of infant mortality of any developed country in the world. We know more than ever about how to prevent illness and accidents, yet we have growing numbers of infants and children who are HIV-positive, injured in auto accidents, or suffering from lead poisoning. We control a significant share of the world's resources and still we allow an ever-increasing percentage of our children to live in poverty, in foster care, or on the streets. Knowing more and having more, it would seem, are not enough to do better by our children. In most societies, children represent the future. The value a people places on the well-being of their young tells a great deal about the society as a whole. In the United States, it is no different. Our children represent our future workforce, our future leaders and voters, our future taxpayers, homeowners, and parents. But the demographics of our population are shifting. Growing numbers of African- Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, and other peoples of color are being born each year, and their current ability to thrive and contribute to the development of society differs from the potential of white, middle-class families. And, as the households of more children fall below the poverty level for a variety of preventable reasons, the resources needed to nurture healthy children will shrink as the demand grows. How we invest today will shape how we need to invest tomorrow