To produce the series "Children for Hire,'' more than two dozen AP reporters, more than a dozen photographers and a researcher worked for five months, searching for children at work and tracing the results of their labor from farm or factory to consumer.

They found working children in factories and fields in 16 states. Two reporters and a photographer accompanied the New York State Apparel Industry Task Force on factory inspections.

Other states examined were Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Washington State.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the AP obtained and analyzed computer records of all federal wage and hour enforcement cases from this decade. Computer databases were used to locate people, identify businesses and trace products.