Although about§§ 1,300 Massachusetts welfare recipients have lost their benefits since Dec. 1, DTA officials say the numbers could have been much worse.

In 1996 the clock started ticking for 41,039 Massachusetts families. But by last month there were only 5,103 recipients subject to the limits on the rolls.

DTA employees credit their own efforts for this drop.

"People who are facing a time limit have been our top priority over the past two years," says DTA spokesperson, Richard R. Powers.

He says caseworkers have been increasing contact with their clients, encouraging them to apply for extensions, and focusing on referring clients to sources of additional aid, such as Just-a-Start.

But opponents of the time limits say that the decreased caseload doesn't necessarily translate to a job well done on the DTA's part.

"Even though the rolls may be down, it appears as though more job training, employment opportunities and support services are needed to genuinely assist people into the working world," says Pamela A. Thomure, a Cambridge attorney who helped lead the City of Cambridge Welfare Reform Task Force.

Thomure says that as the Dec. 1 deadline approached, many welfare recipients accepted minimum-wage jobs-"jobs that will not support a family in the city of Cambridge."

"There will be social devastation in five and 10 years out of this horrendous policy," she says.

Susan E. Mintz, a planner for the Cambridge Department of Human Services, also finds the drop in caseloads less than reassuring.

She suggests that Cambridge's strong economy and soaring rents explain the drop. "I think one possible explanation is that people have continued to receive benefits but have been forced to move out of Cambridge," she says.

LeFemme Bolden, 23, is one former welfare recipient who is fed up with the welfare system.

Bolden, a Cambridge resident, left high school in 1992 because she was pregnant. She promptly signed up for welfare and has been receiving checks ever since.

In 1994, she was forced to vacate her Cambridge apartment because she couldn't pay her rent.

Bolden says she applied for space in a shelter but was told there were no spaces available in the Boston metropolitan area.