children's issues has been appointed, and although this is a -- it's currently held by ambassador susan jacobs, it is also a position designed to help elevate this issue, help coordinate between secretary states' office, the office of children's issues and other aspects of the state department. ii understand, mr. smith, you have a proposal for a higher level ambassador and new office. i'm happy to look at thatment i think that this initial position, from what i've been hearing, has help garner attention, and i think this ambassador has been able to play a particular advocacy role in the diplomatic community that's been important, but there may be enhancements in either changing the position or changing her powers that might be useful as well. case management has also been restructured to some extent at the state department. in the past, there were the last few years of 0 foreign service officers handling the heavy case load of about 150 cases a year. that has not changed, and they now have up to about 100 officers, not all of them are foreign service, but civil service, and they now handle no

and although this is, um, and it's currently held by ambassador susan jacobs, it is also a position designed to help elevate this issue and help coordinate between the secretary of state's office, the office of children's issues and other aspects of the state department. um, i understand, um, mr. smith, that you have a proposal for an even higher level ambassador and potentially a new office, and i am happy to look at that. um, i think that this initial position has, um, from what i've been hearing has helped garner attention, and i think this ambassador has been able to play, um, a particular advocacy role in the diplomatic community that's been important. um, but there may be enhancements either in the changing the position or changing her, um, powers that might be useful as well. um, case management has also been, um, restructured to some extent at the state department. um, in the past there were, last few years about 20 foreign service officers who handled the heavy case load of about 150 cases a year. um, that has now changed, and they now have up to about 100 officers -- not all of the

international children's issues has been appointed and although it is currently held by ambassador susan jacobs it is a position to help elevate this issue and helped coordinate between secretary state's office, the office of children's issues and other aspects of the state department i understand mr. smith that you have a proposal for an even higher level ambassador and a new office and i'm happy to look at that. and i think this initial position has from a i've been hearing has helped garner attention and this ambassador has been able to play a particular efficacy rule in the diplomatic community that's been important to the mabey enhancements in changing the position or changing the powers that might be useful as well. >> case management has also been restructured to some extent that the state department in the past in the last few years about 24 foreign service officers who handled the kpps load of about 150 cases a year that has not changed and to give up to about 100 officers and not all our foreign service summer civil service and other more than 75 cases. we should be seeing improvement

. >> we are talking with susan weinberg who is a publisher of public affairs books, and over here on your board i want to talk about sally jacobs' new book, "the other barack." when is this coming out? >> it's coming out in july of this year. and this is a book, as the subtitle couldn't say it better, the bold and reckless life of president obama's father. sally jacobs said she kind of did a profile of obama in the general ca and all through the phone. and she said, if he's elected, i'm going to go and pursue this story. she'd never done a book before, he'd never felt a story she was that cometted to. but she has been to kenya many times f she has put together his life story in a way that is riveting, arresting, revealing, and i say i can't really know this, but i say, you know, i think if president obama read this book, he would learn things about his father that he doesn't know. and i think it's an amazing contribution to our knowledge of the president and his family. >> what's it like editing a journalist? >> well, it's an interesting process. um, journalists on the one hand can write very fluid my, and thai tasted to the id