This brief report is the first to use data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to provide a uniquely detailed description of American families, both in terms of the income that they receive from various private and public sources, and in terms of their participation in numerous public programs. Subsequent reports based on SIPP data will present information about families distinguished demographically in terms of family structure, family life course status, and the presence of children and the elderly, as well as information on the economic circumstances of individuals according to their educational attainment. Data for these demographically defined families and family members will pertain to amounts of income received and levels of participation in public programs. Additional data will provide national estimates of the total aggregate value of income provided by various private and public sources to American families as a whole and to American families distinguished by their demographic situation. This initial report presents a brief overview of major sources of income and of public program participation for households by type, by age of householder, and by number of dependent children in the household. The results in this report are estimates of monthly averages for calendar year 1984 derived from waves two through five of the 1984 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) . Appendix A of the quarterly report series contains a detailed description of the SIPP.