This document contains three commissioned papers and other materials from a 2-day conference. "Politics, Policy, Practice and Personal Responsibility: Adult Education in an Era of Welfare Reform" (Deborah D'Amico) examines the relationship between literacy, poverty, and welfare reform and the implications of those relationships for literacy practice. "Welfare, Jobs, and Basic Skills: The Employment Prospects of Welfare Recipients in the Most Populous U.S. Counties" (Alec R. Levenson, Elaine Reardon, Stefanie R. Schmidt) evaluates the basic skills and employment prospects of current adult recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. "Families First: Implications of Welfare Reform for Tennessee Adult Basic Education" (Connie White, Mary Ziegler, Beth Bingman) compares Tennessee's Families First program, which contains special provisions for individuals functioning at or below grade level 8.9, with other state welfare reform programs. "Themes from the Small Group Discussions" (Hal Beder) provides an overview of discussions about the issues and problems raised by the Personal Responsibility Act and ways adult literacy instruction and the adult literacy education system should respond to welfare reform. Concluding the document are the conference recommendations on practice, policy, and research. Two papers include substantial bibliographies. (MN)