Douglas J. Besharov and Peter Germanis Women and the Reform of the Welfare System: An Introduction Between March 1994 and July 2001, welfare rolls fell an amazing 59 percent from their historic high of 5.1 million families. How much of this decline was the result of welfare reform and how much was the result of other factors, such as the strong economy? What were the effects of the decline on low-income families? About a quarter billion dollars is being spent on studies and surveys designed to answer these and other questions. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to get more than a modest amount of the information sought. This special issue of Gender Issues, one of a three-part series, examines the welfare reform measures initiated a decade ago and their consequences for women. The issue covers a broad range of topics: child care, marital status, homelessness, and drug abuse. Douglas J. Besharov is the Joseph J. and Violet Jacobs Scholar in Social Welfare Studies at the Ameri- can Enterprise Institute and a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs, where he directs its Welfare Reform Academy. Earlier, he was director of the U.S. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Amonghis publications are Rethinking WIC: An Evaluation of the Women, Infants, and Children Program (with Peter Germanis, 2001); America's Disconnected Youth (1999); Enhancing Early Childhood Programs: Burdens and Opportunities (1996); and Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned (1990). Peter Germanis is assistant director of the University of Maryland Welfare Reform Academy. Before joining the Academy, he was director of the Division of Program Evaluation, Office of Family Assistance, U.S. Department of Health arid Human Services. He also served in the White House under the Reagan and Bush administrations. Among his publications are Rethinking WIC: An Evaluation of the Women, Infants, and Children Program (with Douglas J. Besharov, 2001) and Evaluating Welfare Reform: A Guide for Scholars and Practitioners (with Peter H. Rossi and Douglas J. Besharov, 1997).