For hundreds of thousands of the nation's poor adults, community colleges have long delivered their best chance for gaining sufficient education and training to land a job that could break their dependence on welfare.

Literacy and technical programs, and those that lead to various certificates and degrees have given many on public assistance the extra oomph they need to become self-supporting.

But a year after passage of federal legislation limiting the educational options of welfare recipients, community colleges throughout the country are scrambling to ease the impact on current and potential students.

Employment now takes priority over education and training, meaning many will languish in dead-end and low-paying jobs, never to break the cycle of poverty, observers say. And early indications from several states reveal a steep enrollment drop for students on welfare.

"We firmly believe that educating for high-skilled, high-wage jobs is the way to keep people off welfare and help them have a more productive life," says Dr. Deborah L. Floyd, president of Prestonsburg Community College in the heart of Kentucky's Appalachian region. "We feel that while they are students, they should be allowed to have sufficient time to finish college. "

Prestonsburg and other community colleges in the state already have witnessed a drop in enrollments among low-income students. Last year, the college enrolled 353 students who also received public assistance. This year, the number has plunged to 147.

Officials say the decline is an early sign that welfare reform will come at a heavy price for residents of the poor Appalachian communities.

It's the same story in Wyoming, where educators worry that the state's get-tough stance on welfare is driving the neediest residents out of college and into the kind of low-paying jobs they went to school to avoid.

Grants managers and placement specialists at three of the state's seven community colleges say about 25 percent fewer low-income students took advantage of assistance programs this fall. Officials at the other colleges either reported a slight decrease, no change, or had no comparable figures.