There's also been a lack of information about what happens when people leave West Virginia's welfare rolls after they find employment or are no longer eligible for assistance. And while a majority of respondents said they felt better-off than they were before, more than 40 percent also said that in the last year, they had faced times when they had no money for food, medicine or doctor visits. The study also found that women, particularly those with a spouse or partner, were less likely than men to complete job training programs while receiving assistance. But while education is often touted as the ticket to prosperity for welfare recipients, state lawmakers have been slow in acknowledging that fact. The result was that some people attending programs ranging from Graduate Equivalency Degree classes to college courses ran afoul of the system.
Child care is also an obstacle for the average welfare recipient in West Virginia.
And while the 1999 West Virginia University study suggested it's more of a problem in urban areas, where people may not be as likely to have family members living nearby, there's also a shortage of child care facilities in rural areas, says John Walters, director of the Lightstone Community Development Corp. Walters' organization, which employs Violet Lester in McDowell County, also operates in 27 other counties, many of them rural. If they're successful, he adds, it can help other area women with children who are looking for work. After Five-Year Benefit Cutoff in January, Many Face Uncertainty Advocates like Wilson wonder how the coming battle over time limits is going to affect the progress so far. Like many other states, West Virginia has set a five-year lifetime limit on welfare benefits. Next January, West Virginia's welfare reform will be five years old and state officials will have to decide what to do with recipients who haven't found work and have used up their eligibility.