The August 1996 Welfare Reform Act has succeeded in reducing the welfare caseload in Athens County and throughout the country, but a recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that some families are experiencing a decrease in income.

Wendell Primus, who headed the study, said the disposable income of single mother-headed families on welfare decreased from 1995 to 1997.

He said the income decline is a result of interstate competition aimed at reducing the highest number of caseloads.

"We put too much emphasis on case reduction and not enough making sure family incomes go ahead," he said.

Jack Frech, director of the Athens County Department of Human Services, said a decrease in income is not evident in the county.

"Welfare benefits are different from one state to another," he said.

Frech said the income of single-mother headed families has declined because some states used to pay better benefits than what they pay now under the welfare reform law. Therefore, in some states, people received an automatic decrease in support once the reform law passed.

The law requires work in exchange for time-limited assistance. It states a certain number of families receiving aid in each state must have a parent working at least 20 hours per week. Welfare recipients earn an income from working, but receive fewer welfare benefits.

Frech said this was not a problem in Ohio because the state ranked 35th in terms of the amount of

benefits it gave to needy families.

The average family in Ohio receives $300 each month in food stamps and $360 each month in cash assistance, he said.

The overall effect of the welfare reform law has been to reduce the number of people on welfare in the U.S.

Since the law was passed, caseloads in Ohio have been reduced from 549,312 recipients in August 1996 to 282,444 recipients in March 1999, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Frech said welfare caseloads in Athens County have decreased by two-thirds in the last four years.

He does not give all the credit to the welfare reform law.

Athens County started a work-training program in 1987 for people on welfare. It was one of the first counties in the country to do so, Frech said.

"Our caseloads have been dropping continuously since 1992," he said.

Frech said more than 1,500 people have gone into the work-training program - a trend that partially has been because of the nation's growing economy.

"We couldn't really see the effect of people moving into jobs until the economy increased," Frech said.

Frech said in previous years most people on welfare in Athens County wanted jobs, but could not find them. Now the county has seen growth in service industry jobs creating more opportunities.

Despite the gains, Frech said people have to take into consideration the lifestyle change that occurs when people move off welfare.

"We have to accept these folks are still poor and are working jobs that no one else wants," he said. "We should now invest money in low-wage workers."