Almost one-fourth of Wyoming families are living on the brink of poverty, and more are over the line, according to a report distributed Monday.

In the meantime, some advocacy groups for the poor say the future doesn't look bright as national leaders debate proposed cuts to the government programs designed to help such families.

The 2004 Wyoming KIDS COUNT Data Book, published by the Wyoming Children's Action Alliance, reports that fewer Wyoming families are below the poverty level than the national average, but more qualify as "near poverty."

The poverty data, compiled for the KIDS COUNT book from the National Center for Children in Poverty, shows that Wyoming families experience a handful of such deviations from nationwide trends.

For example, about 53 percent of low-income families are headed by two parents, compared to 47 percent nationwide.

A majority of Wyoming families classified as low-income also include at least one parent who is employed full time, and most low-income families in the state are headed by parents with more than a high school diploma or general equivalency degree.

Mary Ann Budenske, director of Poverty Resistance in Casper, said she isn't surprised by the data.

In Wyoming, she said, even educated adults with jobs frequently struggle to make ends meet, especially while raising children.

She said she often sees people come into Poverty Resistance's food bank on weekends looking for help even though they're working.

"I talk with them … and they say things like, 'I wouldn't be getting free food, but my car broke down and this is all the money I have,'" she said. "We have full-time working people coming in on a regular basis.

"They've already got jobs, and they're not making it. They still can't pay rent, can't pay utilities."

Community resources often are strained by people's needs as consistent government help is harder to find, Budenske said, and the situation isn't improving.

"Wyoming, a couple years ago, bragged that they had gotten rid of 90 percent of the people collecting public assistance," she said. "We traded 5,000 families barely scraping by on public assistance for 5,000 to 10,000 families barely scraping by while working. I don't think it was a bargain."

According to the NCCP data in the KIDS COUNT book, low-income children in Wyoming are far less likely to benefit from government aid than those throughout the rest of the country.

About 19 percent of low-income children in Wyoming receive food stamps, compared to 28 percent nationwide. Likewise, only 4 percent of low-income Wyoming children benefit from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, compared to 12 percent nationwide.

Legislation before the U.S. Congress threatens even less help for struggling families.

President George W. Bush's budget proposal, released earlier this month, includes a $500 million reduction in food stamp spending over the next five years, accomplished in part by instituting stricter eligibility rules. For example, families who receive TANF benefits such as job training and child care vouchers would no longer qualify for food stamps.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps people pay their heating bills, also would be cut more than 8 percent under the president's proposal, despite rising energy costs.

At the same time, debates in Congress over the overdue reauthorization of TANF legislation have included discussion of spending caps on the so-called entitlement program, which currently is funded nationally according to need.

The Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and public policy organization, strongly opposes such proposals.

"Deep budget cuts to the anti-hunger or other programs targeted at low-income families would shift the burden of serving these needy families to local charities. … It is not their job to 'fill the gap' after budget cuts or to be the permanent solution to the societal problems that lead to hunger, such as low wages, high health care costs and lack of child-care," FRAC says on its Web site. "We are deeply opposed to any form of spending cap on the major programs that benefit low-income children, families, elderly and disabled."

Meanwhile, the NCCP also has criticized national political priorities that don't include support for low-income families. Dr. Jane Knitzer, executive director of NCCP, issued such a statement after the president's State of the Union speech earlier this month.

"President Bush seems unaware that America's future is in jeopardy because nearly one-fifth of our children are growing up in poverty," she said.

Budenske said she believes both the federal and state government need to pay more attention to the needs of low-income families, who make up a significant portion of the country's population. And, she said, those who are struggling need to be more politically active.

"This booming economy only works if you happen to be Halliburton," she said. "But there is a real demarcation between low income and high income. There's no middle class in Wyoming."

Staff writer Jenni Dillon can be reached at (307) 266-0619 or Jenni.Dillon@casperstartribune.net.