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These three cases examine variations on a single idea-that of a social policy redesigned so as to correct what many believed, by the late 1980s, was its tendency to drive poor families apart. The states of Arkansas, Colorado and Maryland choose significantly different approaches to the task of marrying social services and income maintenance in ways which fit the goals of the 1988 federal Family Support Act. Colorado, under Governor Roy Romer, seeks to develop a strategic plan which will, when implemented, bring together disparate, not always friendly state agencies charged with providing "comprehensive assistance" to poor families. Maryland, under Governor William Schaeffer, seeks to create a new state agency-the Department of Children, Youth and Families-with the same goal in mind. Arkansas, under Governor Bill Clinton, chooses, in contrast, to develop model approaches at the local level before undertaking statewide reform. Taken together, these cases allow for discussion of the conditions under which long-established bureaucracies are turned toward a new mission, the methods for doing so and the variety of available approaches.