This paper examines the status of social welfare programs in the United States and recent efforts to reform such programs. It proposes key issues that need to be addressed in any attempt to overhaul the federal welfare system. Welfare reform should ensure that: (1) those families on public assistance are able to meet their basic needs in order to provide them the time and incentive to prepare for the job market; (2) the wages and benefits received from employment are adequate to support a family and provide for future growth; (3) there are real jobs that provide opportunities for security and adequate training resources as families make this transition; and (4) there is a system in place to provide "quality" child care to recipients not only while they are in training, but also long enough after training so that parents do not have to quit work in order to care for their children. The paper argues that Head Start can and should be an active partner in any effort to implement this system; the idea of "breaking the cycle of poverty" was the basis of the introduction of the Head Start program in 1965. (MDM)