The first in a series of five regional fact-gathering committee hearings, this hearing report includes testimony from private and public social agencies in New York, New Jersey, Maine, Massachussetts, and Connecticut. Information and statistics are presented on a wide variety of social problems, including (1) family violence; (2) family planning and teenage pregnancy; (3) infant mortality and health care for children and pregnant women; (4) juvenile delinquency; (5) low income housing; (6) private and public food assistance; (7) drug and alcohol abuse prevention; (8) children's fears about nuclear warfare; and (9) the problems of minority and immigrant groups. Several causes for the increased demand for social services are documented; these include the growth of households headed by females and the growth of minority and immigrant populations with few skills at a time when the country is being de-industralized and few low skill jobs are being created. Testimony is also presented about programs successful in preventing child abuse and neglect, teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, and failure in low income urban schools. Among the prepared statements presented is the charge that New York City is conducting a "churning campaign" to artificially reduce the welfare role and cut funds for eligible recipients, several reports describing state and local social services and the effects of funding cutbacks, and information on malnutrition. (CB)