This book provides background for evaluating public policy choices in the area of welfare reform. Although it focuses on Missouri's Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program, it incorporates and compares national data and it raises the same fundamental questions about the fate of welfare in the United States. The eight chapters of the book are as follows: (1) Introduction (including scope and methodology of the study); (2) Welfare and Welfare Reform--The Historical Perspective; (3) Poverty and Public Assistance--The Theoretical Perspective; (4) The Family Support Act of 1988, JOBS; (5) JOBS--Characteristics of Participants; (6) JOBS--Are the Participants Better Off? Are the Taxpayers Better Off? (7) Recent Developments, 1993-1996--Meaningful Reform or Political Symbolism?; and (8) Summary and Final Thoughts. The book includes 34 tables of statistics on the welfare population, JOBS programs, and earnings; a bibliography contains 147 references. (KC)