The welfare caseload had been FALLING steadily since 1994, in part due to a federal welfare reform act that puts a five-year limit on benefits. This past summer, we talked with a series of women who were facing the benefit cutoff, and trying to find work. Shirley Hawkins is the single mother of one child who had recently started her first job. She was working in a temporary position at a packaging company doing everything from creating store displays to stuffing calendars into plastic bags. At that time, I asked her how she felt about her future. Jan Mueller works with welfare recipients at Lifetrack Resources, a social service agency in the Twin Cities that runs a job training program. She's on the line now.