The Committee on Insular Poverty was charged by the United Neighborhood Houses of New York (UNH) with the responsibility of examining the poor of New York City and the function of human service institutions which are supposed to serve them. Of special concern to the Committee were issues relating to service access and the reported difficulties poor people encountered in their contact with human service providers. The Committee reviewed the experiences of the member agencies of UNH and of the people they serve regarding their dealings with schools, the health care system, and public assistance agencies. The Committee directed its concern to poor families, especially those with children. The Committee concluded that: (1) assistance to poor families must include a strong educational component--sound education at all levels can assist in the upward mobility of poor families; (2) the health care needs of New York City's poor are largely unmet; (3) the City's plan to close or cut back services in hospitals in low income neighborhoods should be scrapped; (4) government reimbursement to health care providers should include people not covered by health insurance; and (5) public assistance allotments should be adjusted automatically to keep pace with increases in the cost of living. Included in this report is a description of the Model Income Maintenance Center which is considered by the Committee to be a laudable public assistance demonstration model. (Author/MK)