CLEVELAND - Beginning in October, thousands of Ohio residents who ran out of welfare benefits under state time limits in 2000 could be eligible to apply for two more years of assistance.

        The October deadline will be a test of how well the state has done in moving people off welfare into permanent jobs, state officials said.

        Congress changed federal welfare rules in 1996, setting a maximum five-year time limit for cash assistance. Ohio went a step beyond, setting a three-year limit in 1997.

        But the state also created a safety net: Anyone who used up his three years of welfare could return two years later and seek two more years if he's still in need.

        The first group of 4,000 families cut off under the limits in October 2000 could reapply for benefits this October - but far fewer are likely to do so, said Joel Potts, welfare policy administrator for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

        “If they come back in large numbers, we have to do a critical look and say, "Are we missing something here?' If very few of them come back, it will indicate that the time limits have worked,” Mr. Potts said.

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