According to the Census Bureau, the number of families getting welfare checks increased by about 185,000 between late 2007 and spring 2010. During roughly the same period, the number of families living in poverty rose by more than 400,000. Welfare’s role will be further diminished after October 7, 2010, when emergency funds Congress began providing in 2009 to help states cope with hard economic times will run out. Sheldon Danziger says that this change will narrow the reach of welfare even more, constraining help primarily to food stamps and Medicaid.

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