ABSTRACT
Most dysfunctional adolescents are white, but the hazards are more common and failure rates greater among those who are black or Hispanic. Signals are identified that could warn of coming troubles for particular youngsters well before they occur. In days past when the typical nuclear family consisted of two parents, a working father and a mother at home who cared for an average of two children, this may have served people adequately. Large-scale changes in education, in housing, in income support, in child care, in opportunity structure, in the way people deal with poverty are required. A "children's crusade" with a broad agenda, a coupling of health professionals and those in the social welfare field to put the facts more squarely before Congress and the public were advocated by some with the belief that such an effort could make a difference.
