In Washington today, President Clinton prepared to reduce the national welfare rolls a little bit more by hiring thousands of welfare recipients into federal offices -- including the White House.

That already is being done here under Gov. Ben Cayetano's Work Plus Program, Susan Chandler, director of the state Department of Human Services, said today.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that nationally, welfare caseloads dropped by 20 percent from 1993 to January 1997, while Hawaii's caseloads grew from 54,511 in 1993 to 65,312 in January this year. Alaska, California and Washington D.C. had caseload increases of 2 percent to 4 percent.

Chandler said Hawaii's 20 percent "sounds mighty high" but noted Hawaii's economy is still depressed.

In Washington, federal Health and Human Services spokesman Michael Kharfen blamed Hawaii's increase on two factors:

The state's slow recovery from the recession, which left larger numbers of people still in need of welfare.

An influx of new residents from other Pacific islands.

U.S. territories such as Guam and the Northern Marianas, explained Kharfen, were given lump sum welfare benefits that were quickly used up. When the money was gone, many of the needy residents moved to Hawaii.

In the most recent year for which figures are available, noted Kharfen, Hawaii's welfare rolls had dropped slightly.