This report presents testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on issues affecting low-income children and their families, offered by the executive director of a nonprofit organization that conducts research and analysis on a range of public policy issues affecting low- and moderate-income Americans. The testimony reviews recent trends in child poverty, which indicate that about 20 percent of children were poor in 1989, that children of all ethnicities are affected, and that the problem is serious in rural as well as urban areas. Results of a study of eight industrialized countries have indicated that the United States had the highest child poverty rate. The testimony discusses the effects of the economic downturn on poverty rates among children, and examines the influence of the following factors on increased poverty: (1) falling wages; (2) demographic change; (3) the weakening of the safety net for poor children and their families; and (4) the growth of economic disparities. The weakening of the safety net through changes in Federal and state policies in recent years is analyzed in some detail. The testimony surveys the adverse effects of increased child poverty and concludes with a discussion of areas where significant policy response and reform are needed. (AF)