College Park, Md.—Jan. 30, 2004—The Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families announces its 10th annual awards contest. The 2004 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism contest will honor distinguished news and feature reporting on children and families in the United States, particularly the disadvantaged. Award-winning work illuminates the complex issues and policies affecting these families and contributes to heightened public awareness of challenges and solutions.

Prizes of $1,000 are offered in 14 categories, including one for nondaily newspapers. Application deadline is March 1.

The Casey Journalism Center is a national, nonprofit program of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Rules and entry forms are available online (in PDF format) at http://casey.umd.edu/casey/web/Medals.nsf?OpenDatabase.