The 1996 welfare law made several changes to the food stamp program, imposing time limits and work requirements for able-bodied adults aged 18 to 50 without children.

They were allowed to receive the benefits -- vouchers to help buy food -- for just three months out of every three years, unless they met work requirements or lived in an area of high unemployment that was exempted from the work requirements.

The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, said average monthly food stamp participation fell 68%, from 1,133,000 in 1996 to 362,000 in 1999. This drop came even though 36 states waived the new rules for portions of their populations.

Still, many of these states exempt only small portions of their populations, said Stacy Dean, director of food stamp policy at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. She said most parts of the country remain subject to the time limits, which explains the drop in participation.

"Whenever you subject any population to a three-month time limit, you're going to see a significant decline," she said. And while people become eligible for another three months of benefits after three years, she said, "I don't think we're seeing them come back."

Some states, she added, have aggressively worked to exempt large chunks of the population from the rules. She pointed to Illinois, which has exemptions for 52 counties, 18 cities and 180 municipalities. By contrast, Michigan and Ohio have no waivers.

Cities and counties may receive exemptions if officials can show they have high unemployment or insufficient numbers of available jobs.

In 2000, a monthly average of about 71,400 of the able-bodied adults were in employment, training or "workfare programs," in which welfare recipients are put to work.

The GAO also noted that much of the money available for employment and training programs has gone unspent.

In the fiscal year ended last Sept. 30, states spent just $98 million, or 30%, of the $330 million available. Dollars available for employment and training grow each year, as leftover money remains in the pot, but spending has been flat. This year, $426 million is available.

That's because many of the people had left food stamps by the time the education and training money was available, Dean said. Also, she said, states were focused on developing programs for their welfare populations.

"By the time they were able to really concentrate on it, the folks were gone," she said.