In the wake of welfare reform efforts, the government is willing to provide or finance a wide range of services for working parents and help them purchase child care and child health insurance. Taken together, these services represent a significant attack on child poverty. Based on a basic needs' budget for families and the high proportion of a basic budget taken up by child care and health insurance, a "Help for Working Parents" program would assist all low-wage parents, not just those exiting a welfare program. The key of such a program is to lower child poverty rates by helping all parents in low paying jobs without discouraging working or marriage, as did the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The reasons why little progress has been made against child poverty are: (1) the structure of the U.S. system of benefits to families with children; (2) the failure of the "War on Poverty" program of the Kennedy-Johnson era; and (3) the additional government expenditure and enlarged government activity required by such programs. A Help for Working Parents program would provide the following benefits to lower and middle income families with children: (1) health insurance for all children and their parents; (2) child care for preschool children and after-school care for children in elementary school; (3) income supplementation for low-wage families through the Earned Income Tax Credit and Food Stamps; (4) child support payment and vouchers for goods and services for parents between jobs; and (5) improved social services programs. (AS)