This package is designed to assess the needs of young children in communities heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The assessment provides information about the household, family, the main caregiver of young children, each child under 8 years of age, their basic needs (housing, food, clothes, bedding, daily activities, health, education and childcare), and unmet needs. The information from the assessment is intended to be used to design service programs, targeted to the needs of these young children and their families. The needs assessment is carried out through use of a survey of households in the area served by the organization, sometimes called the .catchment. area. We have based this survey on the commonly used technique of cluster sampling, because we assumed that the size of the population and lack of accurate mapping and census data would prohibit either a survey of all households in the catchment area or simple random sampling. A survey instrument, definitions, script for the interviewer, and training materials are included in the package. The software that accompanies this package includes a program for analysis and generation of reports.