This would indicate to us that every Work, Not Welfare family receiving benefits in January of 1995, was no longer receiving benefits as of April of 1996. There were ten Work, Not Welfare families who had used 14 months of their 24 month allotment as of April 1996. The trend that we have observed in Fond du Lac is that only a small percentage of welfare cases remain on the program for extended periods of time. Significant employment support for some people might reduce that number. An economic downturn would dramatically increase it.
Welfare reform is a major social experiment with laudable goals.
Everyone who ever procrastinated on a project or a paper probably knows that deadlines do concentrate efforts. Time limits during periods of full employment do make sense. However, the possibility for occasional exceptions must exist. Time limits should be extended when unemployment rates rise or in circumstances where there are significant problems to overcome. One size does not fit all.