Welfare cases up sharply across U.S.

? The number of people on welfare rose in three-quarters of the states last summer and the national total crept up as well, as low-wage jobs became more scarce, a private survey of the states finds.

In many states, the increases are small. But the rising numbers in so many states are in contrast to the striking decline that swept the country in the mid-to-late 1990s, when the economy was booming and strict new rules were pushing people from the rolls.

In 1994, more than 5 million families received cash assistance each month. That had plummeted to just over 2 million by July.

The Center for Law and Social Policy, a liberal research group, surveyed the states and found that the rolls rose between July and September in 38 states and the District of Columbia, with an average jump of 2 percent. Official figures for that quarter are not yet out.

Nationally, the group found a small increase of 0.9 percent in the number of families receiving assistance.

In Mississippi, caseloads have risen by 10 percent since July, and state officials aren’t sure why.

The Health and Human Services Department has not reported a national increase in the welfare figures since the rolls began dropping in 1994.

In May, the government said welfare caseloads fell slightly at the end of 2001, though updated numbers now on the HHS Web site show that the caseloads actually crept up in the final months of last year, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The department has not called attention to the revision.

The figures are important for both welfare policy and politics. Conservatives have typically argued that tough welfare rules can succeed in good and bad economic times alike, and they point to the falling numbers as proof. Liberals contend that these tough rules won’t work when low-wage jobs that require little education, training and experience are scarce.

Changes in the welfare program have been debated for the last year in Congress, which must renew the landmark program it created in 1996.

Unable to reach agreement this year, lawmakers simply extended the current law and vowed to try again in 2003. Major issues yet to be resolved include whether states should be required to put more people on welfare to work for their benefits, as President Bush wants, and whether Washington should give states more money for child care, which Democrats want.