WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) will conclude his look at the state of the American child Thursday with a hearing of the Subcommittee on Children and Families. Thursday's hearing, is the fourth of the series, and will focus on what the subcommittee has learned over the past year about how children are faring in today's society and the effectiveness of public policy on their lives.

The series, "State of the American Child," launched by Dodd earlier this year, examines all aspects of children's lives: their health from birth to adulthood; their educational experience- in and out of the classroom; and their life at home with their families in their communities. The focus of the hearings is on the inter-connectedness of all these aspects and how they shape and define the lives of our children.

The final hearing boasts a distinguished panel, that will be testifying: Jennifer Garner, Artist Ambassador, Save the Children; David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., Director, The Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Center of Excellence on Health Disparities, Morehouse School of Medicine; Helen Blank, Director, Leadership and Public Policy, National Women's Law Center; Peter Edelman, Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center and Faculty Co-Director, Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy; Michael Casserly, Ph.D., Executive Director, Council on Great City Schools.

Senator Dodd began this series on the state of the American child earlier this year with a hearing that looked at the challenges facing our children and families and the tools they need to succeed in today's society. The second hearing, held in Connecticut, examined Connecticut social service, educational and health programs that are providing central services and assistance to children and families in the state. The third hearing, which included senior Obama Administration officials, focused on the impact of federal policies on our children.