This research examined the knowledge base on Pacific and Asian American families and assessed the impact of Federal programs and policies for this population. The thesis of the study was that conventional indicators used by the Federal government as measures of social welfare do not adequately depict the disadvantaged conditions under which many Asian Americans live, since Asian American families differ in many ways from those of other minority groups. Data was collected from Asian American families living in five standard metropolitan statistical areas (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco). Statistical analyses of the data demonstrated that alternative measures of social welfare give a less optimistic view of the situation of Asian Americans than do conventional measures. Findings indicated that Asian Americans work more and earn less when compared to whites. It was also found that Asian Americans do measurably less well than whites with comparable levels of education and effort. Recommendations for future research are presented and tables of data are included. (Author/MK)