WELFARE REFORM being of children. Unfortunately, a clear picture is yet to emerge. Early studies lack data on the reformâ€™s impact on young children and appear to point to largely neutral or positive outcomes for younger school-age children. These early studies suggest some negative outcomes for adolescents. While there is legitimate reason to be concerned about those outcomes as they relate to children of welfare leavers, there is also reason to be concerned about the status of the children whose mothers remain on welfare or leave due to sanctions. There will be continuing debate as to whether these outcomes result from the characteristics of those mothers who need welfare, or whether they are a product of the welfare system itself. However, there is a growing recognition that such children will need increasing support. Solutions range from closer connections between welfare and child-welfare systems to a focus on developing community infrastructures that will support working parents. Increasingly, states are examining the relationship between welfare and workforce systems. The recent recession, the first in almost a decade, has focused attention on the need for safety-net programs that are designed to meet temporary needs of individuals who lose work during economic downturns. In addition, research on advancement and retention demonstrates that many adults will face job or personal crises that may make it impossible to work for short periods of time. States will need to better understand the role that workforce programs can play in providing a continuing short-term safety net for individuals who are already committed to workforce participation. In the short term, this may require changes in the unemployment system, but it may also lead to the development of new strategies for promoting workforce attachment through changes in other programs as well. The continued emphasis on workforce participation is also apt to raise new questions about the need to better integrate welfare and workforce programs, particularly as they relate to employment and training programs. There will be increasing interest in bringing welfare agencies into the one-stop system and in statelevel organizational changes that will lead to the better integration of welfare and workforce programs. Together these trends raise a number of related issues. First, there is a growing need for information that allows governments, service providers, and workers to make better decisions about the types of programs and services that will be most effective in addressing the underlying causes of dependency and in facilitating workforce participation and child wellbeing. Too often, states have relied on the federal government or foundations to fund such research. They 448 The Book of the States 2002 can no longer afford this luxury and the challenges will be to find their own resources and to look for new opportunities to collaborate with others in assessing specific solutions. Such collaboration needs to look both across state lines and across differing delivery systems. As better research suggests more effective programs and services, national organizations and others will need to look at new mechanisms to provide the technical assistance required to speed implementation of these programs and services across state lines. Conclusion Welfare reform in 2002 and beyond will break new ground in developing more effective strategies for meeting the needs of welfare recipients and the working poor. It will also provide a critical testing ground for the shape of federalism and domestic policy over the next decade. States can play a critical role in shaping the decision-making process and by taking the lead in developing new, more effective approaches to addressing these complex challenges. References Administration for Children and Families, Research and Publications Web Page, . Administration for Children and Families, Welfare Reform Web Page, . Blum, Barbara B., and Jennifer Farnsworth Francis, Welfare Research Perspectives: Past Present and Future. New York, NY: Research Forum for Children, Families, and the New Federalism, 2001. Brookings Institution, Welfare Reform and Beyond Web Page, . Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Web Page, . Center for Law and Social Policy, Center for Law and Social Policy Web Page, . Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 2000 Green Book: Background Material and Data on Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means, October 6, 2000, . Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Welfare to Work Highlights Web Page, . Heritage Foundation, Welfare Web Page, . Hudson Institute, Welfare Policy Institute Web Page, . Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, Institute for Research on Poverty Web Page, . Johns Hopkins University, Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study Web Page, . Joint Center for Poverty Research, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, Joint Center for Poverty Research Web Page, . Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation Web Page, . Mathematica Policy Research, Welfare Research Web Page,