In just three years, the number of students on welfare—most of them mothers—has dropped to less than 10,000, down from 28,000. Most believe Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's Workfare program is the cause. Below are a dozen profiles of women who managed to stay in school and 10 stories about related issues.
 

	One can't help but notice Dietrick Parrish. As she leans forward, resting her arms on the table's surface, she resembles a corporate lawyer about to advise a board of directors. But Parrish is not a corporate adviser. She is a welfare mother of two. By Tammi McElroy
	The campus Welfare Rights Initiative continues to lobby for a change in the state law to assist students on welfare. By Suk Yee Ng
	This mother of two has been called fat and lazy and a disgrace. On occasion she was told she was not wanted. But instead of letting these insults crush her, she used them to fuel her ambition to the point that she not only juggles parenting responsibilities and a full course-load, maintaining a 3.0 average. She also has learned to speak publicly on behalf of all welfare mothers. By Rosalinda Rubio
	``Why Americans Hate Welfare, '' a recent book by Yale professor Martin Gilen accuses the media with stereotyping blacks as lazy and unmotivated recipients of welfare. He argues that the media's misrepresentation of the poverty-stricken has convinced the American public that most welfare recipients are part of a new class category: the "undeserving poor." By Tammi McElroy.
	At the end of the hall, through the double door enters an authoritative woman with an assertive gait. She is Greer Boyd, the coordinator for the parents' programs. By Jany Tomba
	New York State law recognizes that domestic violence keeps women poor and that it may be difficult for victims of the violence to meet the welfare program's work and time limit requirements. However, few battered women actually benefit from this provision. By Go Urata
	Bushwick born and bred. A tough neighborhood, a violent family life. This tough-talking, spice-tongued Latina with the rancorous, nervous laugh and tender chocolate-brown pools for eyes that speak pain is Michelle Rivera. By Tracy Peterson
	Somewhere on the third floor of the New York State Department of Social Services, a hearing is about to take place. The room is small, approximately 6 feet in all directions. Michelle Rivera enters this dark musty place, trembling. With her younger child on her hip and a green file folder under her arm, she pushes the stroller ahead of her into the room. By Tracy Peterson
	Carol Marion Fendez is on a mission. As a community partnership specialist for the Bureau of the Census, she travels throughout the Northeast, training local leaders how to ensure that their constituencies are accurately counted. By Janice Lewis
	A state court judge ruled in April that welfare officials must individually assess public assistance recipients before placing them in Workfare assignments. Ruling could affect 200,000 single parents who are required to participate in the Workfare program. By Robin Riscica
	In the early 1970s, at age 20, Debra Einstein, recently divorced and the parent of a toddler, landed in Boulder, Colo. She spent three years on the welfare rolls there. That was more than a quarter century ago. By Gerard Dermody.
	The campus Welfare Rights Initiative is part of a nationwide movement to change the restrictive 1996 law that effectively bars women on welfare from pursuing higher education. By Matthew Grace
	Regina Buxton plans to enter the college's graduate program in social work. A former welfare mother, she hopes to be in a position to guide adolescents away from some of the hazards that tripped her up. By Go Urata
	Workfare participants are beginning to protest for basic labor rights. "We want to be in unions,'' said Vondora Jordan, co-chair of Workfairness, an organization representing more than 5,000 of Workfarers. By Kathy Egorova
	Domestic violence survivor Yvette Katen (not her real name) raised three children on a $174 monthly welfare check and battled Workfare requirements while earning her precious diploma. Next month, she will be on the job market. By Robin Riscica
	Many CUNY welfare moms are in a bind. The demand for quality, affordable child care exceeds the availability. Their hectic schedules compound the problem. By Jullisa Nixon
	Meet Angela Bradford: successful student, mother and career woman. She is also a former welfare recipient. Six years ago Bradford had a choice: Find a low-paying job to support herself and her children or apply for welfare and enroll in school, thus developing her skills for the job market. By Matthew Grace
	Long lines plague the financial aid office on any given day during the first few weeks of the semester. Students, including those on public assistance, with all kinds of questions and financial woes, stand and wait their turn. By Janice Lewis
	An employee of the campus Welfare Rights Initiative, Maureen Lane spends her days working the phones. Her message: Mayor Giuliani's mandatory Workfare program is unnecessary. By Suk Yee Ng
	Six specialists on welfare were asked to speak at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York to answer a lingering question: Is Workfare working? By Jacky Chapa
	A third-year student at Hunter College majoring in urban studies, Avone Logan spent her childhood shuttling between one of the toughest and poorest neighborhoods in the city and rural North Carolina. By Rasheeda Wint
	Diana Morris (not her real name) lives in a Bronx housing project. She describes her everyday life as juggling her family responsibilities and "studying, studying and more studying.'' By Kathy Egorova

A special thanks to Beatrice Lopez and Dilonna C. Lewis, Welfare Rights Initiative staff members for their uncomplaining assistance in seeing this project through to the end.

All sketches created by Jany Tomba