Social Welfare(2) a U.S. welfare programs grew significantly in the decades following World War l, but increases in welfare costs during the 1960s and 1970s brought into question the extent and quality of public assistance In the early 1980s the Reagan Administration reduced welfare expenditure and suggested turning responsibility for welfare funding over to the states. The cuts in federal funding that took effect during the Reagan Administration did in fact effectively place the responsibility for maintaining funding levels on the states-and, in some cases, on the larger cities◼ U.S. welfare programs grew significantly in the decades following World War II, but increases in welfare costs during the 1960s and 1970s brought into question the extent and quality of public assistance. In the early 1980s the Reagan Administration reduced welfare expenditure and suggested turning responsibility for welfare funding over to the states. The cuts in federal funding that took effect during the Reagan Administration did in fact effectively place the responsibility for maintaining funding levels on the states—and, in some cases, on the larger cities. Social Welfare (2)