This document contains a transcript of a Congressional hearing on children and families in poverty. Testimony was presented by children and parents who described how they cope with or have overcome poverty, and by representatives of community service groups who work closely with poor families in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Also included are such documents as a fact sheet on children and families in poverty; an outline of services offered at Friendship House, a Washington, DC-based community program; reprints of three articles ("Helping the Poor Help Themselves," by Robert L. Woodson; "How to Stop the Miseducation of Black Children," by M. Carl Holman; and "The Role of the Family: An Overview," by Glenn C. Loury) and other materials. (KH)