This paper describes a process by which anthropologists, computer scientists, and social welfare case managers collaborated to build a stochastic model of welfare advising in Kentucky. In the process of collaboration, the research team rethought the Bayesian network model of Markov decision processes and designed a new knowledge elicitation format. We expect that this model will have wide applicability in other domains.

areas of research specialization are urban poverty; social policy; HIV/AIDS; formal organizations; and race, class, and gender. Watkins is currently revising a book manuscript on organizational change in welfare offices as a