There is a great deal of misunderstanding about welfare programs and clients. This booklet attempts to dispel popular misconceptions concerning the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare (DPW). Using graphs, it provides a demographic profile of welfare recipients. It also provides other statistics about welfare through Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In addition to its primary mission of providing cash assistance and health services to the poor, DPW also operates programs intended to help poor people achieve economic self-sufficiency, including the following: (1) a training, education, and job placement program; and (2) a Child Support Enforcement Program. DPW's goals reflect those of the vast majority of their clients: financial independence for themselves and their families. (LHW)