This report describes the current status of families headed by persons under age 30, and compares the economic well-being of the current generation of young families in 1990 with that of young families in the 1970s and 1980s. The report documents falling incomes and growing poverty among young families, factors underlying young families' economic plight, and the consequences of falling incomes and rising poverty. The report found that the inflation-adjusted median incomes of young families with children fell by 32 percent between 1973 and 1990, and that the poverty rate for children in young families doubled in the same time period, from 20 to 40 percent. For the heads of young families with children, inflation-adjusted annual earnings fell by 44 percent between 1973 and 1990. The report recommends: (1) the enactment of a refundable children's tax credit; (2) the creation of a child support assurance system; (3) the creation of a national health plan; and (4) full funding for Project Head Start. An appendix provides information on the data used in the preparation of the report. (MDM)