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Adolescence represents a unique period in the life cycle. No longer children and not yet adults, adolescents make significant choices about their health and develop attitudes and health practices that impact their current safety and well-being. Those choices also often influence their risk for future serious chronic disease. Adolescence also presents an opportunity for encouraging healthy choices and pro social behaviors that will continue into adulthood. By investing in adolescent health today, America invests in the workforce, parents, and leaders of tomorrow. The national "Healthy People 2010" initiative presents a special opportunity to promote the health and well-being of adolescents. It is also an important element of the new prevention initiative--"Steps to a Healthier US"--from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Serving as a blueprint for improving the health of all Americans, "Healthy People 2010" has two overarching goals: (1) to increase quality and years of healthy life; and (2) to eliminate health disparities. This guide is a companion to "Healthy People 2010" and introduces objectives that are vital to the health of adolescents and young adults. It addresses issues such as unintentional injury, violence, substance use and mental health, reproductive health, prevention of chronic disease into adulthood, and mortality. A variety of strategies, tools, and guiding questions are introduced. Additional resources to help interested agencies develop programs and interventions that can prevent adolescent health problems are provided. Examples of various communities that have brought together different sectors of society to prioritize community action and that have developed mechanisms for implementing workable solutions are highlighted. A framework which agencies can utilize in assessing needs, establishing priorities, taking collective action, and measuring progress towards common goals is also presented. [For the companion publication, "Healthy People 2010," see ED443794.]