This report was prepared as a result of Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich's 1984 request that the Governor's Council on Families and Children review the status of Minnesota's families and children, report its findings, and determine the concerns of other interested people in the state. The report presents highlights and records comments from four public meetings and from a survey of people who had read an executive summary prepared earlier by the council. The information is arranged in the form of answers to the following questions: (1) What is the appropriate role of state government in supporting families and children? (2) What methods might be used to ensure that all children receive adequate health care? (3) What should be the roles of government, business, and the voluntary sector in helping families to secure adequate child care? (4) Who should provide education for parenting--and are schools responsible? and (5) How can government exercise a protective function for children in dysfunctional families and still respect the rights of all persons involved? The summaries and comments are followed by three appendixes: (1) Governor Perpich's executive order, which established the Council on Families and Children; (2) the text of the council's 1984 executive summary on the status of Minnesota's families and children; and (3) information on the survey, "We Need To Know," which elicited many of the comments in the body of the report. (SKC)