Employment, earnings, and poverty among single mothers in New York City and across the United States in the age of welfare reform were examined to identify goals and recommendations for reauthorization of legislation regulating Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The study indicated that although job holding by single mothers has risen by 16.8% since 1996 and unemployment among single mothers fell from 15.3% in 1996 to 10.7% in 2000, low wages, less than steady full-time work, and an inadequate system of income support are combining to produce high rates of poverty in families headed by employed single mothers. The following recommendations for revising TANF were offered as ways of increasing welfare recipients' ability to obtain better jobs, raise their incomes, and improve their rates of job retention: (1) expand access to training and education; (2) fund transitional employment programs; (3) increase funding for child care; (4) create funding for demonstration projects that improve access to other work supports; (5) allow states to exempt wage subsidies, housing assistance, and other income supports from the 5-year TANF time limit; (6) restore eligibility for legal immigrants; and (7) index the TANF block grant. Information on the study data and methodology is appended. (Contains 57 footnotes and 20 tables.) (MN)