Study: State economy has hurt progress for welfare families

HELENA - Worsening economic conditions in Montana have undercut the ability of those on welfare to find jobs and get off public assistance, a new study of the state's welfare programs shows.

The report, released Friday, shows one of four families on welfare when Montana overhauled its system in 1996 had managed to become financially self-sufficient six years later.

At the same time, three-fourths of families were unable to achieve that goal and the number of those that didn't even come close to financial independence grew over the past two years.

''It's not encouraging that a program designed...