In contrast to stereotypes of pathological dependency on public assistance, single mothers participating in the AFDC program actually “package” income from several different sources, including paid employment, means- and non-means tested welfare benefits, and income from other family members, to provide for themselves and their children. These patterns are described in a new Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) study, “Welfare that Works,” based on a nationally-representative sample of single welfare mothers generated from the US Bureau of the Census’ Survey of Income and Program Participation. The study presents a complex portrait of women who participate in the AFDC program.