The Clinton administration sent a message to the states today not to undermine the guiding principle of the new welfare reform law... moving welfare recipients into jobs. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that the Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance to states, saying that they have some flexibility in using their own welfare funds for population groups the federal government would exclude. But the rules say, in most cases, states can not use their own funds to keep recipients on welfare beyond the 5-year time limit set by the federal law.
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