California Report Card 2006-07: The State of the State’s Children

California has made some strides in bettering the lot of its children in the past year, but the state still received mid to low marks for children's health care, education and overall well-being, according to a local advocacy group.... The report card, issued by Oakland-based Children Now, gave the state mostly B's and C's in health care and education. But California earned a D-plus in obesity rates despite increased state spending on physical education and another D-plus in family well-being, which measured poverty, hunger, and child abuse and mistreatment. 'There was some progress last year, and we highlight that,' said Ted Lempert, president of Children Now and a former state legislator. 'But when you measure that against the big picture, we've still got a long way to go.