Wyoming's two-edged welfare experiment

Others don't put the results quite that starkly. They do see a dramatic reduction in caseloads - even exceeding expectations of some proponents. But they also think there as has been at least some meaningful employment of welfare recipients, fostering more self-sufficiency. "The data are coming in even better than was predicted. Caseloads are way down. Employment of single mothers is far above what it had been," says Rebecca Blank, a labor economist and a deanat the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "I think you have to give some credit to these policies."

From the outset, Wyoming took the mandates of welfare reform seriously. In other states, recipients receive benefits first and then must prove they are striving to meet work requirements. Wyoming is the only state that demands recipients meet work requirements one month before the first payment - that means 40 hours a week must be spent job hunting, in work-related training, or volunteering.

Yet in a state where one-third of the jobs pay poverty wages, the premise that any job is better than no job is questionable, say those who advocate for the poor. "Many people we see are working two or three jobs. And they're still not making it," says Bill Buckles, executive director of Community Action of Laramie County, a nonprofit agency. Forcing people to take a job without addressing the issue of their qualifications usually means they'll end up in a job where they can't advance, he says, Moreover, some can't earn enough to support their family, but neither can they qualify for benefits under the new strictures.

That's been true for Cody, a single mother of 7-month-old twin boys (she requested that her last name be omitted). Although she receives $400 a month in food stamps, she hasn't received benefits under TANF because she is caring for her children fulltime and not seeking employment. For now she is relying on family members for her day-to-day needs. "Thank God they're there," she says. "I don't know what someone in my situation would do without family."

While resources are still limited, Wyoming is developing programs geared toward helping women like Cody. One example is Our Families Our Future, a nonprofit agency that trains single mothers for higher-wage nontraditional careers, such as truck driving and carpentry. But because the state-partnered agency is funded partly with TANF dollars, it can train only TANF-eligible women.

The Department of Workforce Services, the state's newest agency, also is working to develop vocational training and employment services throughout Wyoming. Yet in many parts of this large, mostly rural state, higher-paying jobs are not often available, even for the qualified.

Around Jackson Hole, in wealthy Teton County, jobs are plentiful. But they're almost exclusively in the service industry - at hotels, restaurants, and ski resorts. And for those with young children, the dearth of child care in Wyoming is another major obstacle to employment.

Still, there are signs of hope for Wyoming's most disadvantaged, tales of lives turned around - such as Armajo.

With her two-year-degree in human services, Armajo now works full time in the Family Services office in Lander. Her income has quadrupled. She's also working toward a bachelor's degree, taking classes two evenings a week. Although life as a single, working mother is "hard," she remains hopeful about the future. "It makes me feel better to be working at something, and improving myself," says Armajo.

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