The new welfare laws present a particularly difficult hurdle for aspiring college students. For example, under the federal
law, students enrolled in college who do not meet the strict work requirements are typically not considered as engaged
in an approved work activity. The law allows some community college experience as a form of "vocational educational
training," but there are caps on the number of months permitted for any one individual and on the total number of people
permitted in these programs. No individual may count vocational education as part of work activity for more than 12
months, and no more than 30 percent of the population that a state reports as engaged in work activities under
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) can be participating in vocational education. In the year 2000 the rule
became even more restrictive as additional categories of recipients were swept into the 30 percent cap. The states face
penalties from the federal government if they do not meet these mandates.