The highlights of this statistical update include a new profile of the extremely poor, poor, and near poor population of young children; the use of an alternative measure of young child poverty that provides new insights into the impact of programs and policies on the economic well-being of young children; and a brief examination of why the poverty rate among young children has decreased since 1993. Among the findings noted in the report are the following: (1) the poverty rate for young children and the number of poor young children have declined since 1993, yet remains the highest in all age groups; (2) single parenthood, low educational attainment, part-time or no employment, and low wages each raises the risk of being poor, but taken together can be economically devastating; (3) Black and Hispanic young children are much more likely to be poor than are white young children, and the young child poverty rate has increased fastest among Hispanics; (4) about one third of all poor young children live with married parents; (5) young children living in mother-only families are particularly vulnerable to the risk of poverty; (6) young children with well-educated parents are much less likely to be poor, but high school graduation is not enough to insure against poverty; and (7) over three-fifths of poor young children live in families in which at least one parent is employed. The report also notes that the most likely explanation for the decline in the official poverty rate between 1993 and 1996 is that a greater proportion of the population was employed. (HTH)