The Competitiveness and Productivity of Tomorrow's Work Force: Compelling Reasons for Investing in Healthy Children.

This fact sheet outlines some demographic trends that are influencing the cost and availability of health care for children and making it increasingly necessary to take action to improve the health of the nation's children. In recent years children, as a group, are more likely to be poor, lack health insurance, have working mothers, receive inadequate prenatal care, suffer from communicable diseases, and become victims of violence, abuse, and neglect than in the 1960s and 1970s. Infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and high school dropout rates in the United States are also very high in comparison to rates in other developed nations. All of these trends have a negative effect on industrial productivity, and on the ability of young adults to find secure, well-paying jobs. Health care plans that promote healthy children are a wise business investment, since parents of healthy children miss less work time and have higher morale. Healthy children also make better students and are more likely to become productive workers. Overall, employers will benefit from higher employee morale, lower turnover, and reductions in health care costs, absenteeism, accidents, and workers' compensation claims. Contains 28 references. (MDM)