House Passes Health Care Overhaul (NPR) After a full day of rhetorical scuffles and contentious debate, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system. The vote for the Democratic plan — 220 to 215 — had the support of one Republican, while 39 Democrats joined most Republicans in opposition.

Premature Births Are Fueling Higher Rates of Infant Mortality in US, Report Says  (New York Times) Dr. MacDorman said prematurity was not the only factor behind infant mortality in the United States. She said full-term babies in this country also had higher death rates than those in Europe from sudden infant death syndrome, accidents, assaults and homicides.

Unhealthy America (New York Times) We rank 37th in infant mortality (partly because of many premature births) and 34th in maternal mortality. A child in the United States is two-and-a-half times as likely to die by age 5 as in Singapore or Sweden, and an American woman is 11 times as likely to die in childbirth as a woman in Ireland.

November Is National Adoption Awareness Month: Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Encourages Adoption of Children Waiting in Foster Care (Reuters) All children deserve a loving, permanent home. This is the premise of National Adoption Awareness Month, founded in 1990 to increase the number of children adopted from U.S. foster care and celebrate the unique joys of creating families through foster care adoption.

Quality early education: Good for kids and the economy (Reuters) Quality early childhood education is associated with improved worker availability and productivity. Early childhood education enables parents to participate in the labor force. Studies have shown that availability of good early childhood education can reduce employee turnover by 37 to 60 percent.

Staying in School (Center for Arts Education) This report takes the first ever look at the relationship between school-based arts education and high school graduation rates in New York City public schools. The findings, based on data collected by the New York City Department of Education (DOE), strongly suggest that the arts play a key role in keeping students in high school and graduating on time.

Best Practice:Florida Children in Need of Services (CINS), Families in Need of Services (FINS)(OJJDP) In 1987 the Florida State Legislature established the Children and Families in Need of Services (CINS/FINS) program to provide family-oriented prevention services for status offenders (youths 10 to 17 years old who are troubled, truant, ungovernable, or runaways). The statute describes what diversion services must be offered to youth and families before a status offender petition is filed in court.

Juveniles' life sentences are too cruel (Miami Herald) The U.S. Supreme Court should determine that a sentence of life in prison without parole imposed on juveniles meets the definition of cruel and unusual punishment forbidden by the Constitution. (sign in may be required)

Tragic cases could change juvenile sentencing laws (CNN) Child legal advocates say many states lack resources to handle young inmates given long sentences, including a lack of proper jailhouse counseling. Few studies have been conducted on the effects on young defendants facing life in prison, said the Equal Justice Initiative, which is representing the key appellant in one of two cases the Supreme Court will examine in oral arguments Monday.

Our Opinion: Graduation rates must be improved (Tallahassee Democrat) In the last two years, however, state budget cuts have reduced per-student funding by nearly 2 percent, and school districts around the state have been forced to cut programs, enrichment, and even staff.

FDOE report: Class size reduction in schools unnecessary, too costly (Naples Daily News) “Numerous studies show the increase in expenditures due to class size reduction is not a cost-effective means to increase student performance. Focusing resources on other factors that impact student performance, such as teacher quality and socioeconomic status, may yield increases in student achievement,” the report reads. “It is crucial to consider these significant research findings in the formation of future class size policy.”

Campaign Aims to Impress Leadership (Breaking News) Roy Miller, president and founder of the watchdog group, Children’s Campaign, shared this observation:  “Everybody I talk to believe the results of the next election are even more crucial to the well-being of children than any of those in the past, with the governor’s race topping the list.  Florida needs a leader truly dedicated to children.”