They also cite statistics over the last five years showing declines in public assistance caseloads and a corresponding increase in the percentage of Oklahoma applicants denied aid.

The number of Oklahomans receiving aid in March under the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program grew by only 230, or 1.2 percent, from a year ago.

In the same month, the Oklahoma unemployment ranks increased by almost 47,000, or 82 percent from last year, and the number of people getting food stamp assistance rose for the 12th straight month to a record 450,000.

There also was a rise in applications for Medicaid assistance, part of a 4.5 percent increase from March of 2008.

Officials at the Oklahoma Policy Institute say they have long had questions about how TANF operates in Oklahoma and the program's effectiveness in fighting poverty. They say applications for TANF have fallen every year since 2004.

They want to know if factors include qualification requirements of the state program and the relatively low maximum benefits allowed: $292 a month for a family of three, compared with a median benefit of $492 a month across the country.

The range among the states is from $170 in Mississippi to $923 in Alaska, said David Blatt, director of policy at the private, nonprofit organization, which support programs to fight poverty.

According to the Institute, Oklahoma spends just 13 percent of TANF money on cash assistance, compared to a national average of 30 percent. Most of TANF funds go to job training, education and other programs.

"Can we show that our spending for child care, transportation, administration and other social programs is equally or more effective at fighting poverty than cash assistance?" the Institute asked recently on its Web site.

Mary Leaver, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, defended existing priorities. "We believe that putting money into training and programs will help people have a more secure future," she said.

Blatt said there is no doubt the TANF program has had success in better economic times getting people training and into jobs.

"Now we're dealing with a downturn and we know the number of unemployed and people in poverty are rising and it seems to be unclear whether the TANF program is really functioning as a safety net for those in need," he said.

He said a single mom faces more obstacles getting aid than they did before welfare reform in the late 1990s.

Because of low payments, red tape in federal law and state policies, "You may have reached the point where people have stopped treating TANF as something that is available," Blatt said.

He said there are detrimental consequences if that is the case. "If there is no income, that can lead to homelessness and other kinds of problems that are worse. We think TANF is an important part of the safety net, particularly now that we are seeing this steep rise in joblessness."

According to Blatt, 50 percent of applicants for TANF were denied benefits in 2004, while 60 percent were denied in 2008.

The TANF program was part of federal welfare reform and came into being in 1997. It replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.

Just as with AFDC, single adults do not qualify for cash assistance in Oklahoma. Only families with children qualify.

Adult categories include single moms and guardians such as grandmothers who are raising kids. According to DHS, there were 8,812 households with 15,991 children covered by TANF in April, but less than 3,500 of the cases involved parents receiving cash payments.

Since its inception, politicians of all stripes have hailed changes under TANF that have reduced the welfare rolls in Oklahoma.

Officials at DHS said welfare cash payments dropped by 80 percent between June of 1998 and June of last year.

"We consider that a success," Leaver said. "Our goal is to help people find employment as soon as possible for those participating in the TANF program."

However, she said the agency recently has seen an increase in adults with children who are seeking assistance.

She said there is a concern that with higher unemployment rates, it will be more difficult for current and former TANF clients to find a job than in the past.

Leaver said former TANF clients have a tool that AFDC clients did not have during tough economic times: unemployment benefits. She said if the recession is protracted and those benefits run out, TANF rolls could swell.

Blatt said only about half of unemployed people qualify for jobless benefits, including those who have not been in their jobs for long and those who are dismissed.