The Ad Council will present Members of Congress with a new study that reveals dramatic shifts in the public’s attitudes towards the nation’s children during a briefing this morning in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. [IMGCAP(1)]

The new report by one of the country’s largest producers of public service campaigns offers communications strategies, resources and advice to assist advocates in developing communications to benefit children. The study, which was conducted in December 2003, found that while in the mid-1990s Americans blamed parents for the problems of children and were reluctant to help, today most Americans say raising children is the responsibility of parents with the support of others in the community. And while a majority of parents feel that all or most children in the United States are “at risk,” 78 percent of Americans want to help today’s youth, according to the report.

Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) and Lynn Woolsey (Calif.) will be on hand at the briefing which will take place at 9:30 a.m. in 430 Dirksen. The full report is available online at adcouncil.org/research.

— John McArdle