Included among the provisions in the law were options for state and tribal governments to design programs of assistance to meet local conditions under relaxed federal rules. In general the welfare caseload continued to decline under these conditions, coupled with an economic uptrend in Arizona. The Salt River and Navajo plans are still pending federal approval. While the state of Arizona, particularly Maricopa county, has experienced economic growth and labor market expansion to support some of the concepts of welfare reform such as JOBS training, work participation and time-limited benefits, Indian reservations continue to be economically depressed. Nine of the reservations in Arizona have jobless rates of more than 50 percent, resulting in those populations being exempted from time limits on their benefits, as provided for in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, P.L. 105-22.
Few resources exist for economic development initiatives in many reservation communities.
While gaming enterprises have improved economic conditions and provided jobs, in some communities, the level of resources varies from tribe to tribe. These kinds of resources have simply not been available in the past and for some reservations continue not to be available. For those tribes with income from gaming it will take time to build infrastructure due to the many years of neglect. The successful creation of sustainable jobs is also reliant on many other factors. These include personal supports such as reliable child care, transportation, education, skills development and a livable wage.