ABSTRACT
It seems the American public can hardly remember a time when welfare, and its tangential issues, were not at the center of some political debate. Scarcely a week goes by when we are not reminded of the increasing number of individuals, particularly women and children, who live in poverty, and the companion issue of the skyrocketing cost of welfare. 1 As we crept through the 1991–1992 recession this problem became increasingly evident: ten percent of American families were receiving welfare, 35–40 million were without health care, food stamp use was on the increase, and assistance levels were being challenged in light of unbalanced state budgets. Welfare and welfare law and policy are part of the American fabric. Its threads have been woven in such a way that it has become interdependent with numerous social and economic policies, because legislators have little latitude to reduce budgets without inflicting some damage to the welfare system.
