Making Welfare Work examines the current wave of welfare reform in America. In recent years, many Americans - while troubled by the plight of the poor - have become frustrated by what appears to be a permanent subculture of welfare dependency in this country. As a result, a number of states are experimenting with new financial incentives - "carrots and sticks" - in an effort to restructure their welfare systems.This documentary looks at the personal lives behind this complex and controversial welfare reform debate, searching for initiatives that have proven effective. The relative merit of supportive versus punitive measures, the effects of time limits, and the role of child support enforcement are all brought into focus by the real-life stories of families living in states that have become "laboratories" for the welfare reform experiment.While President Clinton has declared his desire to "end welfare as we know it," there is little consensus over how to make welfare work. This film explores the success as well as the controversy surrounding welfare reform experiments, and cautions us not to further shortchange disadvantaged families in our rush to overhaul a failing welfare system.