New York is looking to take advantage of new federal welfare regulations to expand access to education and training. But will it be tripped up by budget woes and bureaucratic foot-dragging?

New federal rules are opening the door for New York state to allow more residents who receive public assistance to obtain education and training, the state’s welfare chief said last week.

Yet the state’s uncertain budget climate and questions about implementation mean the fate of such reforms are uncertain, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner David Hansell told a group of welfare advocates – many of whom have long held that better integrating education into public assistance would help people get off welfare… [read more]