By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The number of families receiving welfare payments in Missouri is at a ten-year low. The Social Services Department says 44,000 families are receiving the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) payments.
That's the lowest number since the state re-vamped the welfare program in 1996; about 80,000 families were on welfare rolls at that time.
The state says it spent just over $133 million on the program last year, compared with more than $257 million in 1996.
Welfare rules now limit people to no more than five years of benefits.