This study examined the demographic and psychological characteristics of the parents of a group of children with no access to health care, due to their status as "working poor" and thus denied either public or private health insurance whose children were referred for treatment for an acute health problem by a volunteer health care program for children. Participating were 215 children, ranging from 4 to 17 years, referred by Project KIND (Kids in Need of Doctors), located in a large southern California county, to receive health care. Seventy-nine percent were Latino, 15 percent were of European American origin, and 6 percent were of African American or Asian American origin, or were unspecified. Twenty percent of children were from single parent (mother only) families. Findings indicated that 20 percent of fathers and 75 percent of mothers were unemployed. The types of health problems included 39 percent dental, 14 percent skin, and 13 percent each injuries/accidents and eye problems. The average dollar cost for each service was $400, which was positively related to the length of time the child had the problem. About 70 percent of school nurses and parents reported that the health problem was moderately to highly interfering with school functioning. Nurses reported that 37 percent of children would likely miss more than a week of school, and that 40 percent of children would have their lifetime productivity compromised if the health problem were left untreated. Parents moderately agreed that their children's good health came from being lucky, and more strongly agreed that they could do many things to fight illness in their children. Nurses' perceptions of parents' health locus of control generally were highly correlated with parents' perceptions. (KB)