Advocates for young people must often choose which issues and strategies to champion at which time, and find ourselves competing for resources and attention. Rarely do we have the opportunity to combine approaches that could fundamentally change how decision makers think about policy, practice and human potential.

We know that the quality of afterschool programs can have an impact on learning. We know that the quality is measureable. But is quality improvement malleable?

We've all experienced compassion fatigue: that feeling of growing numb when we're bombarded with images and statistics about people in need. Research tells us that this is a common human phenomenon.

You wouldn't expect an organization of retired generals to publicly take on the issue of how well third graders read. But the group called Misson: Readiness has done just that, and all of us who carry out Ready by 21 strategies or simply care about youth should take heed.

The annual and valuable KIDS COUNT Data Book was released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and it got me thinking about a challenge that confronts those who are working to help the nation's youth.