Children's problems are just as acute as before. The percentage of children living in poverty is especially high. Between the ages of seven and fifteen, the percentage of poor children in 2001 was 38.5 percent, whereas among the population at large the figure was 27.6 percent. Moreover, families with a higher number of children are not provided adequately by state welfare payments. The problem of state support for families with children is exacerbated by chronic delays in the payments of benefits. This article presents the relationship of family attributes such as size and structure to poverty. It also discusses how poverty adversely affects a child's development. (Contains 1 note.)