Conversely, families with two parents have a greater chance of avoiding poverty altogether. Blacks and Hispanics find themselves in poverty more so than Whites. Poverty many times is a temporary condition. In other words, when a person or family falls below the poverty line, they tend to rise above it at some point in the future. Considering the abovementioned groups, it is reasonable to say that young minorities who come from single-mother homes comprise the majority of those in transitory poverty. Attempts to reform welfare are inherently limited as some portions of it are, as previously stated, bound for the middle class. Take, for example, Social Security. It 'is such a politically volatile topic that presidents have resorted to independent and nonpartisan commissions to recommend reform, rather than undertake to initiate reforms themselves' (Dye, 105). The programs that benefit the middle class tend to largely escape the grasp of serious reformation. As a result, those programs that benefit the truly needy are usually the targets of welfare reform.

In 1996, President Clinton's administration enacted a set of welfare reforms called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The main goals of these reforms were to reduce the number of welfare recipients and limit the length of time they can receive benefits. The principal thrust was to move welfare recipients into the workforce, thereby making them self-sufficient and, it was hoped, more likely to rise above the poverty line. It appears as though some objectives were met. 'The number of welfare recipients in the nation dropped by over half following...

What's more, this 'welfare to work' movement continues as in 2002, President Bush 'asked Congress to further strengthen the work requirements in the TANF program' (Dye, 111).
While the 1996 welfare reforms enjoy popular support, it is speculative whether they truly reduced levels of poverty. The United States Bureau of the Census claimed in 2004 that 'for the third consecutive year the poverty rate rose, from 12.1% in 2002 to 12.5% in 2003. The number of people in poverty increased also, by 1.3 million, to 35.9 million in 2003' (Economic Statistics Briefing Room, 1). In other words, while the number of welfare recipients is decreasing, the number of Americans living in poverty is increasing. The term 'working poor' has captured part of this phenomenon. It consists of those individuals and families who are employed but do not obtain sufficient income to live what is typically considered a decent level of existence. It is unfortunate that a majority of those suffer most from this situation are children, who undoubtedly cannot control their surroundings. Americans are still attempting to better understand what social and economic consequences the 1996 and subsequent welfare reforms have created.