This document begins with highlights of a seminar meeting held in July of 1992 on poverty in America, followed by a background briefing report on the problem of poverty in the United States. This background briefing report is the first in a series of three reports. It summarizes some major themes of the vast and growing body of poverty literature, highlighting issues and questions that are of special relevance to families with children. The report briefly discusses the definition and measurement of poverty and presents some basic characteristics of poor families. It is noted that, in 1990, one in five children lived in families whose income was below the poverty line. Some of the dimensions of poverty, the new ways of thinking about poverty, that have emerged in recent years are discussed. Then the patterns and distinctive characteristics of two major types of poor families (two-parent and single-parent households) are examined in more detail. Highlights of the literature examining poverty in the urban and rural contexts are presented, looking especially at the concept of a subgroup of the poor, referred to as the "underclass." The document concludes with an annotated list of 17 resource organizations and approximately 96 selected references. (NB)