Of those, approximately 20,000 were child only cases and 16,500 are deferred cases. These excluded cases may be temporarily or permanently deferred from Work First participation because of disability, recent child birth, caring for a grandchild or similar reasons and have no expectation that they be employed.
Welfare reform continues to assist clients in entering the workforce and becoming self-sufficient.
The FIP caseload has declined by 63.5 percent since March 1994, when it totaled 226,863 cases, the highest number in recent years. Some of the families who remain with us may have larger barriers to becoming independent of public assistance than those whose cases have already closed, and we are focusing on those barriers. Current and former FIP recipients continue to receive employment supports that enable them to become self-sufficient. Some of those supports include day care, food stamps and medical assistance. August data show 65,702 families qualified for day care assistance from FIA, representing 123,942 children.