Overall, 28 percent of adults receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) abuse or are addicted to drugs and alcohol, a higher rate than the 20 percent of people in a comparable age group not receiving public assistance. Almost 90 percent of adult AFDC recipients are female. Thirty-seven percent of AFDC women ages 18-24 abuse drugs or are addicted; 27 percent of AFDC mothers abuse drugs, compared to 9 percent of mothers who do not receive AFDC. Drug, alcohol, and tobacco use by a pregnant woman affects the newborn child as well as the mother. For some AFDC recipients, addiction may have led to job loss and welfare dependency. For others, drug abuse may make moving from welfare dependency to self-sufficiency virtually impossible. Because the most important issue in the debate over welfare reform is how to help individuals on AFDC become self-sufficient, drug treatment for welfare recipients with drug or alcohol problems is crucial. 15 reference notes