Mediocre grades on a new report card on welfare reform don't accurately reflect North Dakota's success in moving people off government assistance, according to the State Department of Human Services.

The Heartland Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, produced the report card and state rankings based on an assessment of reforms from 1996 to 2006. It published its findings this past June.

North Dakota ranked 35th among the states overall and received a grade of "C" for its welfare reform policies.

North Dakota has made notable improvements since 2006, according to state officials.

Carol Cartledge, director of public assistance, said the caseload for Temporary Aid to Needy Families, which already had been declining before 2006, dropped further from an average monthly caseload of 2,700 in 2006 to 2,560 cases this past June.

"That's due to the good economic conditions and the new policies taken by the department during that time period," she said.

The department also established a cash diversion program to provide people with lump-sum cash payments to meet short-term needs rather than add them to TANF. As of June, the department had 553 cases on diversion assistance. North Dakota had earned an "F" on its report card because it lacked a program in 2006.

North Dakota also earned an "F" for failing to have a strong sanctions policy for TANF recipients who fail to meet requirements, such as finding work.

"We take more of a cooperative approach rather than a punitive approach," Cartledge said.

"We don't feel a need to move to sanctions," added Tove Mandigo, director of the division of economic assistance policy. "We are sitting in a very nice position as one of the 10 states that meets the federal work participation rates. We kind of feel like what we are doing works."

North Dakota scored an "A" for its work policies, including requiring new clients to immediately seek work. A career options program provides intensive case management for recipients who need more help finding jobs.

North Dakota scored a "D" for not reducing a recipient's lifetime eligibility for benefits to less than the federal limit of five years. Cartledge said the department hasn't concluded that a change would be beneficial. Clients who live on American Indian reservations particularly may require the full time because job opportunities are limited, she said.

North Dakota also didn't score as well in categories such as reducing unemployment or the teen birth rate. Mandigo said it's more difficult to show change in areas in which the state already has numbers that are low compared to national averages.

Cartledge said the department continues to look for ways to improve the way it provides welfare services. A proposed change is to increase access to education for clients so they can work themselves off assistance.

"The economic conditions in North Dakota are very, very good for us to be able to move people up that career leader," Mandigo said. "We are able to take a look at the needs and wrap services around people and give them a better chance of moving up that ladder. That's really what it's all about is getting people off assistance altogether."