Many of Wisconsin's working families face economic distress, living from paycheck to paycheck and being forced to choose between paying their rent or buying food for their children. Parents under stress often cannot support their children with time, energy or resources. In order to affirm the importance of children in the state, and to help build an economy based on high skill levels and productivity that will benefit both workers and firms, data were collected to look at the problems that confront Wisconsin's working poor families and how some of those problems can be solved. Wisconsin performs well when compared to the national average, but there is room for improvement. Data collected shows the following: 4.5% of working families do not earn enough to rise above the poverty line; while the majority of adults have a high school education, this no longer guarantees a high-paying job; workers tend to work more hours and hold multiple jobs, which suggests that many jobs do not pay a sustainable wage; and only 10% of workers do not receive health insurance from their employers. Suggestions for areas of policy improvement include the following: (1) improve low-income workers' access to education and training; (2) support sectorial initiatives that build Wisconsin's strongest industries; (3) create a system for monitoring corporate subsidies and measuring their effectiveness; (4) raise and index the state's minimum wage; and (5) increase the state's commitment to existing programs. (Contains 7 tables and source information for the text and the tables.) (MO)