This report describes a 1998 consultation conducted to examine the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 on legal immigrants and refugees in Rhode Island. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act restricted access of documented immigrants to a wide range of government programs such as food stamps, supplemental security income, medicaid, medicare, assisted housing, and educational grants. The consultation examined how implementation of the Welfare Reform Act had adversely affected legal immigrants and refugees; determined whether and how Rhode Island state policies and/or private agencies planned to ameliorate adverse conditions resulting from implementation of these statutes; and examined current efforts by the state congressional delegation to ameliorate adverse conditions. The Rhode Island Advisory Committee to the Commission on Civil Rights heard from three panels, which included civil rights and immigrant rights advocates and service providers; federal, state, and local government agency providers and policymakers; and Rhode Island congressional delegation staff. Overall, eight areas of concern surfaced: lack of a state safety net; lack of interpreters and notices in native languages at state and federal agencies; states pressing for recovery of public benefits from immigrants; insufficient programs and instructors to teach immigrants English; potential increases in dropout rates among immigrant children; inflexibility of the 5-year ban for elderly and disabled immigrants; children's health policies; and delays in citizenship processing. Edited transcripts of the consultation are included. (SM)