Mothers without high-school degrees -- arguably those who most need education and training -- were the least likely to be enrolled in a program, the report says.
The Census report offers new details about how many people are enrolled in training and how many are working while getting government assistance. In both cases, white women and women who had more education were the most likely to be working or in training of some sort.
The analysis comes as Congress debates the value of education and training versus time on the job. President Bush and many lawmakers want to require more hours at work, while many Democrats want to allow more flexibility for training programs, in hopes that developing skills will help people move up the economic ladder.
The Census report suggests that in 1998, two years after the federal overhaul kicked in, few welfare recipients were in training, as states focused on pushing people into jobs and off the rolls altogether.
Overall, just 13.5 percent of women on welfare were enrolled in training programs, including job-skills classes, training in how to find a job and traditional education.
Among those who didn't graduate from high school, just 8 percent were in some sort of training. For those with a high school degree, it was 16.9 percent. And for those with at least one year of college, it was 19 percent.
Similarly, those who did not graduate from high school were least likely to be working, with just 33.2 percent combining work and welfare. That rose to 43.2 percent among high school graduates and to 47.4 percent among those with some college.
Dan Weinberg, a Census Bureau analyst, said people with more education may also have other qualities that make them more likely to work or enroll in training. They may have fewer children, for example.
"They've already taken the step beyond high school," Weinberg said. "Maybe they were forced by circumstances to go on welfare and here's an opportunity to get training."
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