“Show Me the Money!”

To the Editor.—

I am always in awe of the tremendous amount of tedious and diligent work that goes into the preparation of a task force or committee report. I am also always fascinated by the fact that compensation for the additional time and expense in implementing the recommendations is never considered. It is my suggestion that with each new recommendation or task force report, the committee issuing said recommendations shall also include the method by which the pediatrician will be compensated for his time and expense. In the August 2001 issue of Pediatrics, there is a committee report with recommendations for “Sexuality Education for Children and Adolescents.”¹ I am in full agreement that pediatricians should integrate sexuality education into clinical practice. The second recommendation is for educational materials such as handouts, pamphlets, or videos. Why has the committee not obtained an unrestricted educational grant for the production and distribution of those educational materials to all members of the Academy? The third recommendation is “pediatricians should be knowledgeable about community services that provide appropriate high-quality sexuality education.” I wonder why the committee has not …