The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute was asked to provide a detailed demographic analysis of the population on public assistance and the working poor not on public assistance in Milwaukee County. Computerized records of families and individuals receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), food stamps and medical assistance in 1990, 1993 and 1994 were used to construct a picture of Milwaukee County children on public assistance. The Milwaukee County "working poor" population, including families both on and off public assistance, was examined using 1993 income tax data especially generated by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, detailing the earnings of single parents and married couples. These data were compared to 1990 U.S. census data for Milwaukee County, while recognizing that the significant census undercount in central city Milwaukee may exaggerate the level of AFDC concentration in some neighborhoods.