This issue of "The Future of Children" examines whether programs implemented by the federal welfare reform law accomplished the goal of reducing the number of children growing up in poor, single-parent families and whether these programs benefited children. This examination coincides with debates in Congress on the reauthorization of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This collection of articles includes "Statement of Purpose" (Richard E. Behrman); "Children and Welfare Reform: Analysis and Recommendations" (Margie K. Shields and Richard E. Behrman); "The 1996 Welfare Law: Key Elements and Reauthorization Issues Affecting Children" (Mark H. Greenberg, Jodie Levin-Epstein, Rutledge Q. Hutson, Theodora J. Ooms, Rachel Schumacher, Vicki Turetsky, and David Engstrom); "Reforms and Child Development" (Aletha C. Huston); "Experimental Studies on Welfare Reform and Children" (Martha J. Zaslow, Kristin A. Moore, Jennifer L. Brooks, Pamela A. Morris, Kathryn Tout, Zakia A. Redd, and Carol A. Emig); "Welfare Reform and Child Care Options for Low-Income Families" (Bruce Fuller, Sharon L. Kagan, Gretchen L. Caspary, and Christiane A. Gauthier); "Family Economic Resources in the Post-Reform Era" (Sheila Rafferty Zedlewski); "Welfare Reform, Fertility, and Father Involvement" (Sara S. McLanahan and Marcia J. Carlson); "Welfare Reform and Parenting: Reasonable Expectations" (P. Lindsay Chase-Landsdale and Laura D. Pittman); and "Five Commentaries: Looking to the Future" (Wendell E. Primus, Ron Haskins, Fernando A. Guerra, Eloise Anderson, and Barbara B. Blum). (SM)