Residency requirement could be part of LePage welfare overhaul, By Steve Mistler, January 7, 2011, Lewiston Sun Journal: “Gov. Paul LePage’s decision Thursday to allow state agencies to ask people about their immigration status likely will be the first step in his plan to overhaul Maine’s welfare system. A spokesman for LePage said the governor’s executive order was meant to send a message that Maine would no longer be a ’sanctuary state’ for people seeking a driver’s license or social services. But advocate groups for low-income individuals expect the move is a precursor to Republican efforts to impose residency duration requirements on certain welfare programs, particularly General Assistance, which disburses vouchers to qualifying families for critical living expenses, such as utilities and food. General Assistance recipients are already required to prove they’re living in Maine. However, widespread concerns that needy people are coming to Maine to take advantage of its welfare programs have prompted Republican lawmakers to introduce legislation that would require people to live here for a determined period before receiving assistance…”

• Welfare rules forcing people into destitution, report finds, By Laurie Monsebraaten, December 13, 2010, Toronto Star: “It is tougher to get welfare in Canada today than during the economic downturn of the early 1990s, the National Council of Welfare says in its latest report. That’s because Ontario and most other provinces force people to drain their bank accounts and spend all of their savings before they qualify for help, says the report, released in Ottawa Monday. As a result, it is almost impossible for those living on welfare to get back on their feet, says the council, created by Ottawa in 1969 to advise the minister of human resources on poverty in Canada. Other problems include rates that fall far below any definition of poverty and welfare claw-backs that leave those who find some work no further ahead, the report notes…”
• Welfare rules forcing people into destitution: Report, By Norma Greenaway, December 13, 2010, Vancouver Sun: “Too many Canadians are being forced to deplete bank accounts, retirement savings and get rid of other assets to qualify for welfare, a new national report says. The rules imposed on welfare recipients in most provinces are overly restrictive and counterproductive, says the report released Monday by the National Welfare Council. The combination of low social assistance rates and low earning and asset limits produces a ‘perfect’ poverty trap with no escape hatch, especially for single people, council chairman John Rook told a news conference…”

Democrats try to revive child care subsidies, By Marisa Lagos, December 6, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle: “Democratic lawmakers, still fuming over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to eliminate child care subsidies for poor families, will hit back today with a bill that would restore funding to the program and guarantee day care for about 55,000 children.Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, authored the measure, which relies on a number of sources to pay for the program through June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers will take up the bill next month, when Democrat Jerry Brown takes office as governor - with Pérez hoping Brown will be more sympathetic than Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Supporters of the day care subsidy cheered the decision, saying that restoring the subsidies would allow working parents to keep their jobs and eventually transition off state assistance entirely. Supporters had warned that cutting the program could ultimately cost taxpayers more than keeping it, because many parents, unable to afford child care, would quit their jobs and apply for welfare in order to stay home with their children…”

To end poverty, guarantee everyone in Canada $20,000 a year. But are you willing to trust the poor?, By Erin Anderssen, November 19, 2010, Globe and Mail: “Nicole Gray, a 24-year-old single mother living in Victoria, feels like a ‘beggar’ every time she has to go into a government office and ask for help to pay her bills. She has finished her diploma to be an office medical assistant despite having gotten pregnant as a teenager. But job losses and the difficulty of raising her son, now 7, on her own have made her income unpredictable. Meanwhile, she says, the system is suspicious of every request and doubts every word. There are hundreds of rules. She has been sent away because she was missing one document. She has had to justify a no-contact order against her son’s father and had a caseworker scrutinize every detail of her bank account. Every interrogation ‘makes you feel very low to the ground,’ she says. And the worst, she says, is that you learn quickly ‘that you can’t count on anything.’ But what if we gave Ms. Gray and other poor Canadians something to count on: cash directly in their pockets, with no conditions, trusting people to do what’s right for them? It’s a bold idea, and it runs counter to the paternal approach to poverty that polices what is done with ‘our’ money and tries to strong-arm the poor into better lives…”

Welfare’s safety net hard to measure among states, By Amy Goldstein, October 2, 2010, Washington Post: “The nation’s welfare system of cash assistance, for decades the core of help for mothers and children in financial distress, has become a shrunken piece of the U.S. social safety net. The welfare rolls have absorbed relatively few of the Americans who have tumbled lately into poverty or unemployment. The number of families getting welfare checks, federal figures show, increased by about 185,000 between the start of the recession in late 2007 and this spring. During roughly the same period, the number of families living in poverty rose by more than 400,000 to record levels, according to the Census Bureau, which reported this week that, in Washington, three out of 10 children were poor last year. State by state, welfare programs are a patchwork, with little connection between the condition of a state’s economy and the number of people who have gone onto welfare…”

$69 million in California welfare money drawn out of state, By Jack Dolan, October 4, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “More than $69 million in California welfare money, meant to help the needy pay their rent and clothe their children, has been spent or withdrawn outside the state in recent years, including millions in Las Vegas, hundreds of thousands in Hawaii and thousands on cruise ships sailing from Miami. State-issued aid cards have been used at hotels, shops, restaurants, ATMs and other places in 49 other states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, according to data obtained by The Times from the California Department of Social Services. Las Vegas drew $11.8 million of the cash benefits, far more than any other destination. The money was accessed from January 2007 through May 2010. Welfare recipients must prove they can’t afford life’s necessities without government aid: A single parent with two children generally must earn less than $14,436 a year to qualify for the cash assistance and becomes ineligible once his or her income exceeds about $20,000, said Lizelda Lopez, spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services…”

Phone troubles hang up Texas welfare requests, By Robert T. Garrett, August 31, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “Even as Texas spends hundreds of millions to hire more workers to process welfare applications, it has skimped on replacing obsolete phone systems at more than 300 offices. At some, phones are more than two decades old and prone to ‘port failures’ in which callers hear a ring, but no line actually rings in the office, officials said. Also, many newly hired workers do not have voicemail. Experienced workers and supervisors do, but they complain of occasional malfunctions, which can make entire offices unreachable. The situation has added frustration and complications for Texans applying for benefits as the economy sags…”

Proposed cuts would slash services for poor, mentally ill, other Texans in dire need, By Robert T. Garrett, August 26, 2010, Dallas Morning News: “Some of Texas’ most vulnerable residents - the very poor, the mentally ill, those suffering from birth defects, and children from troubled families - would lose state support and services under several new budget-cutting proposals. In one of the deepest proposed cuts, made public Tuesday by the Health and Human Services Commission, monthly welfare payments to extremely poor households with children would be cut about 20 percent, to an average of about $57 per person a month. In two-parent families, payments per person would be slashed by half, to about $33…”

Elderly and disabled immigrants may lose financial aid, By Alexandra Zavis, August 22, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Some of the poorest elderly and disabled people admitted to this country on humanitarian grounds will lose their cash assistance in October unless they have naturalization applications pending, federal officials say. Letters have been sent to 3,800 recipients of Supplemental Security Income, including some in California, warning them that their eligibility for the federal program could end Sept. 30, said Lowell Kepke, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration. The deadline has caused concern among refugee advocates, who point out that some of these legal immigrants aren’t able to pass the citizenship exam or can’t yet apply because of delays processing their green cards. The refugees, asylees and other humanitarian immigrants are admitted to the U.S. because they have been victims of war, persecution or other disasters in their home countries…”

Nebraska has yet to sign up for stimulus funds to help low-income residents, By Nancy Hicks, August 13, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star: “Nebraska is one of two states that have not signed up to get federal stimulus money intended to help low-income residents with things such as paying back rent and buying school clothes. The state could get from $6.34 million to as much as $28.7 million, but it must apply before the end of the month. The money can be put in the hands of low-income families to help keep them off cash assistance, to keep them from being evicted or to help with job training, said state Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha. ‘It is a great way to stimulate the economy and help those families out in tough times,’ he said. State leaders, who for several weeks had been saying they were reviewing the issue, said Thursday they will apply for money…”

• Labor toughens welfare rules, By Patricia Karvelas, August 12, 2010, The Australian: “Julia Gillard has promised much tougher welfare conditions for those on the dole. She has warned the unemployed that they will lose their benefits if they miss an interview or scheduled training opportunities. Welfare groups slammed the move as draconian, while the Coalition accused the Prime Minister of copying its as-yet-unannounced policy. Ms Gillard yesterday revealed she would offer long-term unemployed people up to $6000 to relocate to take up a job, under a welfare-to-work initiative first flagged by the opposition. Employers will be offered $2500 to take on long-term unemployed who have relocated, as the government sets out to encourage people to shift to areas with worker shortages. The program will begin with a trial relocation assistance package, starting in January with 2000 long-term unemployed people…”
• Welfare payments linked to child health checks, By Patricia Karvelas, August 10, 2010, The Australian: “Julia Gillard has announced new rules requiring parents of four-year-olds to take the children for health checks before getting benefits. At stake for the parents is the $726.35 family tax benefit. The new rules for the payment of Family Tax Benefit Part A are part of a radical new plan to link welfare with behavioural change. The Prime Minister announced in Melbourne today a major extension of the government’s welfare reform plan that began with the dole and payments to single mothers. Working parents who receive family payments will be obliged to fulfil responsibilities imposed by the authorities before they receive taxpayer money. Payment of the family tax benefit end-of-year supplement for families on income support for four-year-olds will be conditional on certification that a Healthy Kids Check has been undertaken. The Healthy Kids Checks for four-year-olds were introduced by the government in 2008 to ensure children were healthy before they started school…”

USDA urges California to reverse food stamp policy, even though some could lose benefits, By Alexandra Zavis, August 10, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture is encouraging California to consider reversing a policy that prevents some of the state’s poorest and most vulnerable residents from applying for food stamps, even though it could cost some current recipients their benefits. The suggestion, contained in a letter to the California Department of Social Services, has raised concern among some advocates for the poor who were hoping federal authorities would allow the state to open the food stamp program only to those recipients of cash assistance for impoverished elderly and disabled people who would not be adversely affected. ‘We really do want to make sure that we protect those households with disabled children and low-income seniors that benefit from the current policy,’ said George Manalo-LeClair, senior director of legislation for California Food Policy Advocates. The letter received Friday from the Department of Agriculture said federal law prohibits California from changing the rules for some and not all recipients of Supplemental Security Income…”

Many indigent refugees to lose federal assistance, By Robert Pear, July 31, 2010, New York Times: “The Social Security Administration is about to terminate cash assistance for thousands of indigent refugees who are severely disabled or over the age of 64. ‘You will lose your Supplemental Security Income on Oct. 1,’ the agency says in letters being mailed to more than 3,800 refugees. All fled persecution or torture. Many are too old or infirm to work and are not yet eligible to become United States citizens. Federal law sets a seven-year limit on payments to refugees. The maximum federal payment is $674 a month for an individual and $1,011 a month for a couple. In 2008, Congress provided a two-year extension of benefits for elderly and disabled refugees, asylum seekers and certain other humanitarian immigrants, including victims of sex trafficking. The extra eligibility period is now ending, and Congress has not taken action to extend it…”

Germans contemplate cuts to social welfare system, By Borzou Daragahi, July 18, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Unemployed mom Fee Linker lives on welfare benefits in a centrally located five-room flat that costs about $1,500 a month. The garden terrace looks out onto a lush wooded area where birds chirp in the trees. ‘I wouldn’t get along without this government money, not with this apartment,’ says Linker, who sends her 6-year-old daughter and two sons, 7 and 10, to a private school. ‘It’s my opinion that as a mother of three, I deserve a comfortable life.’ These days, fewer politicians and economist agree, and if proposed laws are enacted, Linker’s benefits could be gone with the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen. The German government is contemplating spending cuts and tax increases totaling $100 billion by 2014. The Cabinet approved the measures July 7, though many details have not been disclosed. But proposals so far include slashing $40 billion in welfare benefits, in part by allowing caseworkers to decide how much, if anything, people like Linker get instead of doling out automatic payments…”

State switching to online, call centers for welfare applications, By Nancy Hicks, July 2, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star: “Some Nebraskans will be unable to get the help they need under the state’s plan to use call centers and online applications rather than caseworkers and face-to-face interviews for welfare-related applications, according to testimony at a Friday public hearing. ‘The new system, which discourages or eliminates the possibility of meeting face to face with a live human caseworker, is immoral and shows indifference toward the needs of people with disabilities, indeed people with any needs,’ said Kathy Hoell, executive director of the Nebraska Statewide Independent Living Council. The state plans to set up four call centers to handle most applications for services like food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, energy assistance and child care subsidies. Department of Health and Human Service leaders are also promoting online applications as a way to streamline the process…”

State’s food stamp cash-out policy no longer the best option for many aid recipients, By Alexandra Zavis, July 5, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Leaning on a cane, Donjean Gardner eases open her fridge and surveys the contents: half a Subway sandwich, several boxes of tangerine juice, a jar of pickles and half a jar of salsa. Her one good meal a day comes from Meals on Wheels. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her 30s, Gardner traveled the world for 20 more years working in television production. But the disease caught up with her eventually. Now 70, she is mostly confined to the metal bed that dominates her cramped apartment in Echo Park. Her only income is $845 a month in cash assistance for impoverished elderly or disabled people, most of which is spent on rent. She thought she might qualify for food stamps. To her dismay, the answer was no. California is the only state that does not allow its 1.2 million recipients of federal Supplemental Security Income to apply for the benefit. The state decided in 1974 to increase its matching grant - known as the State Supplementary Payment - by $10 a month in place of administering food stamps for them. This additional amount has not changed in more than three decades…”

Federal review aims to improve refugee system, By Anna Gorman and Alexandra Zavis, June 23, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Recognizing that the United States is failing thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn countries, the Obama administration is conducting the first thorough review of the refugee resettlement system in 30 years and plans to announce major reforms this summer. Officials say the system is outdated and lacks adequate resources to help refugees find jobs and support themselves before exhausting their benefits. That task has been made more difficult by the recession and high unemployment. ‘The basic set-up of the program hasn’t been altered in many years,’ said National Security Council spokesman Ben Chang. ‘It was time to take a fresh look.’ Several changes have already been made to ease the transition for newcomers, most of whom have no U.S. work experience, little savings and limited English skills. The largest numbers of refugees last year - admitted based on persecution or fear of persecution - came from Iraq, Bhutan and Burma…”

Cuts to child care subsidy thwart more job seekers, By Peter S. Goodman, May 23, 2010, New York Times: “Able-bodied, outgoing and accustomed to working, Alexandria Wallace wants to earn a paycheck. But that requires someone to look after her 3-year-old daughter, and Ms. Wallace, a 22-year-old single mother, cannot afford child care. Last month, she lost her job as a hair stylist after her improvised network of baby sitters frequently failed her, forcing her to miss shifts. She qualifies for a state-run subsidized child care program. But like many other states, Arizona has slashed that program over the last year, relegating Ms. Wallace’s daughter, Alaya, to a waiting list of nearly 11,000 eligible children. Despite a substantial increase in federal support for subsidized child care, which has enabled some states to stave off cuts, others have trimmed support, and most have failed to keep pace with rising demand, according to poverty experts and federal officials. That has left swelling numbers of low-income families struggling to reconcile the demands of work and parenting, just as they confront one of the toughest job markets in decades…”

• Backlogs for aid may grow, By Mary Vorsino, May 6, 2010, Honolulu Advertiser: “The state has abandoned a controversial cost-cutting and modernization plan for benefits eligibility offices, a plan that included laying off 228 workers. But officials warned that without the changes, big backlogs for food stamps, cash aid and other applications will continue to grow. The state could also face federal penalties for failing to process applications in a timely way, Department of Human Services director Lillian Koller said yesterday…”
• Override vote ends plan to close welfare offices, By Mark Niesse (AP), May 6, 2010, Honolulu Star Bulletin: “The state Department of Human Services has called off a plan to close all the state’s welfare eligibility offices and lay off 228 public employees. A law passed by the Legislature last week stopped the state from moving forward with the proposal to close the state’s 31 welfare locations and replace them with two new processing centers in Honolulu and Hilo, said Human Services Director Lillian Koller. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed the law, but the Democrat-controlled Legislature’s override prevented welfare office closures on the neighbor islands and required public hearings before they could be consolidated on Oahu…”

• Townships stockpiling reserves intended for needy, By Joe Biesk and Elisabeth Martin, April 25, 2010, Southtown Star: “At a time when America is grappling with its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, township governments across the Southland have stockpiled hefty cash reserves in accounts intended to help the poor pay for basic necessities, a SouthtownStar analysis shows. Many Southland townships are paying more to administer their poor relief programs - funded almost exclusively from the local property tax - than they are to give the needy a hand. Others are sitting on large sums of money, in some cases topping more than $1 million, that they invest or save for future use instead of increasing benefits or returning it to taxpayers, the analysis found…”
• Townships use different methods to address needs of poor, By Elisabeth Martin and Joe Biesk, April 26, 2010, Southtown Star: “When homeowners in Frankfort Township open their property tax bills each year, there’s a big fat zero where their taxes for the township’s general assistance program normally would be. The township hasn’t collected taxes for the program in 20 years, and officials say they plan to keep it that way. Instead, needy residents who come to Frankfort Township for help get referrals to other programs that offer assistance and visits to the township’s food pantry. As a result, the township hasn’t had a client on its general assistance rolls for years…”

DFLers challenge Pawlenty’s proposed welfare cuts, By Madeleine Baran, April 27, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “DFL legislators in the House appear poised to challenge Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposed cuts to the state’s welfare programs. A budget proposal released Monday by Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-Duluth, contains few of the cuts that the governor proposed earlier this year. Huntley chairs the House Health and Human Services committee and said his budget prioritizes the needs of the poorest Minnesotans. ‘We tried to minimize the cuts, so that we would not destroy institutions that we’re going to need for the next three years when the economy gets better, but we do have some serious cuts,’ Huntley said. Earlier this year, the governor had proposed cuts to the Minnesota Family Investment Program, a welfare program for families. The cuts would mean that most families with a disabled parent or child would lose their cash grants. Huntley’s budget does not include these cuts, although it does include other changes to the program…”

Minn. could join other states in cutting welfare programs for single adults, By Madeleine Baran, April 23, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “When Freddy Toran started going blind, he said he considered himself lucky to be living in Minnesota. Toran had moved to the state after he lost his job at a steelworker in Missouri six years ago. He found work as a baker in Minneapolis, but his vision started to fail. Within a few years, he was diagnosed with glaucoma, lost his job and ended up homeless. ‘From something to nothing in like overnight, that do hurt a person,’ Toran said. Out of work, broke and disabled, Toran, 49, headed to the Hennepin County welfare office, where he learned he could receive $203 a month from a state program known as General Assistance. Disabled and sick adults without children are eligible for the payments. Toran said he was surprised to learn of the program. His home state, Missouri, didn’t have anything like it. ‘We are blessed to have what we have here in Minnesota,’ he said on a recent afternoon at his new one-room apartment. The building sits next to the freeway near downtown Minneapolis, with a view of the shelter where Toran used to sleep. But Toran worries he could end up homeless again if the legislature approves Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s welfare cuts. In February, the governor proposed eliminating General Assistance, which covers about 19,000 Minnesotans…”

• Eligible families in need fall through the cracks, By Mary Spicuzza, April 13, 2010, Wisconsin State Journal: “Just two days before she was due to have a baby, a young mother said she was discouraged from applying for the state’s welfare-to-work program after being told her fiance - who’d struggled to find work - should go out and get a job. Another woman said she’d spent months looking for work but complained of rude job center employees who never mentioned the program, Wisconsin Works (W-2) to her. And a mother who has been living on nothing but food stamps said she dropped out of the W-2 program after less than a year, partly because the schedule for required job training and classes was so demanding. They were among the dozens of people who told the Wisconsin State Journal that despite living in deep poverty - many of them with no income other than food stamps - they still aren’t receiving cash payments or other benefits they could be eligible for under W-2…”
• DFL legislator says welfare policy penalizes women who have a miscarriage, By Madeleine Baran, April 13, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “A key DFL lawmaker has asked the state to change a policy that limits welfare benefits for mothers who suffer a miscarriage. State Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, proposed an amendment on Tuesday that would remove what she calls an unintended and obscure barrier to welfare benefits. Under current law, in many cases welfare officials can deny cash grants for children who are born to a mother who suffered a previous miscarriage while on welfare. ‘It’s pretty rare, but it is sad when it does happen,’ said Jessica Webster, a policy advocate with Legal Aid. The agency has represented clients who have challenged the welfare policy. Webster said that the denials are the result of a complicated and often confusing welfare system…”

In a tough economy, old limits on welfare, By Robert Pear, April 10, 2010, New York Times: “Kimberly E. Kaplan recently received a notice telling her that she and her three children were about to lose their monthly welfare benefit of $584 because they had reached the time limit on cash assistance and she had not made adequate efforts to find work. Ms. Kaplan, 43, is required to work 20 hours a week, but is seeking a hardship exemption. Her 4-year-old son, Landon, has psychological and behavioral problems, and she said that ‘it’s a full-time job to take care of him.’ Rhode Island has the nation’s third-highest unemployment rate, but the welfare rolls here continue to decline because of the time limits and stringent work requirements. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of Americans receiving benefits under the main federal-state welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, has increased less than 10 percent, even though unemployment has nearly doubled and the number of people receiving food stamps has grown more than 40 percent, to 39 million…”

Recipients say Pawlenty’s welfare cuts would be disastrous, By Madeleine Baran, March 30, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “On a recent afternoon, Ja’Na Dickens held her three-year-old son on her hip, sliced up a pineapple for her three children, and expressed her determination to lift her family out of poverty. The 22-year-old mom has a lot to overcome. Her youngest son, Ira, was born with a rare genetic condition, and doctors said he had a year to live. In the last year, however, Dickens’ life began to change. Ira’s health improved. He started receiving 24-hour nursing care at the family’s Plymouth apartment. Dickens enrolled as a part-time student at North Central University in Minneapolis, with the hopes of getting her bachelor’s degree in social work. But Dickens’ plans could run headlong into Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s plan for balancing the state’s budget. Her family is one of 7,000 households with a disabled family member who would lose hundreds of dollars a month under Pawlenty’s budget fix…”

City will stop paying the poor for good behavior, By Julie Bosman, March 30, 2010, New York Times: “An unusual and much-heralded program that gave poor families cash to encourage good behavior and self-sufficiency has so far had only modest effects on their lives and economic situation, according to an analysis the Bloomberg administration released on Tuesday. The three-year-old pilot project, the first of its kind in the country, gave parents payments for things like going to the dentist ($100) or holding down a full-time job ($150 per month). Children were rewarded for attending school regularly ($25 to $50 per month) or passing a high school Regents exam ($600). When the mayor announced the program, he said it would begin with private money and, if it worked, could be transformed into an ambitious permanent government program…”

Budget cuts restrict medical care for poor, By Julia Lyon, March 3, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune: “One year after an emergency room doctor noticed a disturbing spot on Deborah Davis’ kidney, the recovering alcoholic who has been homeless for years is finally trying to find out if she has cancer. But if she needs a kidney removed, she may be one year too late to get help from Utah. This January, the state stopped enrolling poor, disabled clients for short-term monthly cash payments known as General Assistance, intended to keep them afloat until they receive federal disability benefits. Being enrolled in GA also allowed people to apply for state money for one-time medical procedures. Fixing a hernia or carpal tunnel syndrome — more typical procedures than Davis’ kidney surgery — allows a recipient to go back to work, stop relying on public benefits and prevent a long-term disability. Fewer and fewer Utahns have access to that support. In the past few years, state budget cuts reduced GA by millions of dollars and shortened the amount of time clients receive aid, resulting in hundreds of people losing benefits…”

• Va gov seeks deep cuts to schools, social services, By Bob Lewis (AP), February 17, 2010, Daily Press: “Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed deep, unprecedented cuts to public schools, the state government work force and health and welfare safety net programs in a $2.1 billion bid to balance a critically troubled state budget. The Republican governor, who ruled out any tax boosts before he took office a month ago, sent shock waves across a General Assembly struggling with its own budget plans and through teachers, state workers…”
• Proposed cuts would end California assistance for most new legal immigrants, By Alexandra Zavis and Anna Gorman, February 16, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposals to close California’s budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare. The proposal would represent an about-face for the state. In 1996, Congress denied access to welfare for most legal immigrants who weren’t citizens. California and other states established programs to fill the gap. Now, officials say the state can’t afford the price tag. Schwarzenegger’s plan would save $304 million but leave tens of thousands of elderly, disabled and impoverished people with no safety net in a deep recession…”
• Advocates: Grants program can’t replace Pawlenty’s proposed cuts to the poor, By Madeleine Baran, February 18, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: ” Thousands of Minnesota’s poorest residents still stand to lose their only source of income if Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s budget passes, despite a new welfare program the governor said would replace it. The state’s department of human services today unveiled more information about a new program offering short-term grants that Pawlenty said would offset his proposed cuts. Low-income adults could access the crisis program only once per year, unlike the current program, which provides up to $203 a month…”
• Votes, then a veto, for health care, By Warren Wolfe and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, February 19, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Acting with bipartisan force and unusual speed, the Minnesota Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to extend a health insurance program that covers Minnesota’s poorest and sickest citizens — only to find Gov. Tim Pawlenty waiting at the end of the day with a veto. Pawlenty issued his veto from Washington, D.C., where he was preparing for a major political conference. The day’s events only escalated an emotional showdown among the governor, legislators and health care advocates over General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), a program seen as a key safety net covering 35,000 poor adults in a typical month…”

• Pawlenty proposes cuts to local governments, health and welfare, By Elizabeth Dunbar and Madeleine Baran, February 15, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed a series of deep cuts to local governments and health and welfare programs on Monday to fill a $1.2 billion state budget deficit and pay for tax cuts he says will create jobs. Pawlenty proposed $347 million in cuts to state health and human services programs and wants to cut state payments to local governments by $250 million. Pawlenty’s plan to reduce spending while also slashing business taxes sets up a likely clash with the DFL-controlled Legislature, which just last year voted to raise taxes to help fill a budget hole. Democratic leaders were critical of Pawlenty’s proposal, saying it takes services away from Minnesotans and puts money into the pockets of corporations. They say his cuts to local government are out of line, and will hit public safety programs despite the governor’s promises to preserve them…”
• Cuts would fall on poor, old, disabled and sick, By Warren Wolfe, February 15, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposal to cut a net of $347 million from programs for sick, aged, disabled and jobless people is akin to the advice an ailing George Washington got from his doctors 210 years ago, one critic said Monday: Bleed him, in hope of a cure. Pawlenty would eliminate the General Assistance program in which about 20,000 disabled and very-low-income people receive an average of $175 a month. He also would remove about 21,500 childless adults earning between $8,100 and $27,000 from MinnesotaCare, the health insurance program for lower-income working people…”
• Poorest of the poor would lose their last benefits, By Madeleine Baran, February 17, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “Advocates for the homeless warn that thousands of the state’s poorest residents could lose their only source of income under the new budget proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The governor’s budget would eliminate General Assistance, the program that provides $203 a month in cash assistance to low-income single adults who are unable to work, and replace it with a less expensive crisis assistance program. General Assistance served about 19,000 people each month in the last fiscal year, and is the only source of income for many homeless adults…”

• Governor warns of deep fiscal crisis as he unveils California budget plan, By Evan Halper and Shane Goldmacher, January 9, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned Friday that the state remained deep in fiscal crisis and proposed steep reductions in almost every major government program, but many lawmakers quickly dismissed his ideas as stale and vowed to push for alternatives such as tax hikes. His proposal, aimed at closing a $19.9-billion gap, and the response to it foreshadow another year of paralysis in Sacramento as the governor and lawmakers struggle with the latest crippling shortfall. The new budget blueprint — the governor’s last before term limits force him from office — comes after the state’s epic financial problems have already become a target of ridicule around the world. Even after $60 billion in program cuts, tax increases and federal stimulus money over the last year, California’s books are so far out of balance that the state is once again in danger of having to issue IOUs…”
• Budget proposal ‘disaster’ for the poor, By Troy Anderson, January 12, 2010, Los Angeles Daily News: “The governor’s proposed state budget could mean a record loss of nearly $4 billion for Los Angeles County, putting hundreds of thousands of needy residents at risk of losing welfare checks, in-home care, health care and other services, officials said Tuesday. ‘It’s very stressful for us when we hear the state budget has a $20 billion shortfall,’ said Gloria Molina, who chairs the Board of Supervisors. ‘We know there is going to be an awful lot of cuts made for many of our services… That is terrifying to all of us.’ Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget, Molina said, nearly 400,000 county welfare recipients could lose $1 billion in benefits…”
• Social services cuts worry Bangor, Portland, By Glenn Adams (AP), January 12, 2010, Bangor Daily News: “Lawmakers expressed horror over proposed cuts in the state program that helps some of the most desperate Mainers on Monday as they began reviewing potential social service cuts recommended by Gov. John Baldacci’s administration. The program is called general assistance and it serves as a last resort for the homeless, the hungry and ‘those out on the street,’ Sen. Joseph Brannigan said during a hearing before two committees assessing numerous cuts. The cuts in Baldacci’s supplemental two-year budget seek to address a $438 million gap between revenues and expenses…”

Welfare rolls grow in city, but increase is modest, By Julie Bosman, December 16, 2009, New York Times: “As the number of New Yorkers applying for food stamps, enrolling in Medicaid and checking into homeless shelters climbed last year, the welfare rolls presented something of a riddle: they continued to fall. But last month, nearly 355,000 people in the city received welfare payments, a 4 percent increase over the year before, according to city officials, who predict that if the economy does not recover, the growth will continue for at least 18 months. City welfare officials and advocates for the poor disagree on why it took so long for the rolls to grow - the rise began in the summer - but the trend is a reflection of the national welfare reform of the 1990s, which also may be a factor in why the growth has been so slow. Even with the increases, the caseloads are still 23 percent lower than when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office in 2002 and are just a third of the number at the enrollment peak in 1995…”

• City judge rules against state in food stamp processing lawsuit, By Brent Jones, December 11, 2009, Baltimore Sun: “A Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that the state has failed to deliver food stamps and medical benefits in a timely manner to thousands of Marylanders, and he ordered a corrective action plan to be filed by late January. Judge Barry Williams ruled that the Department of Human Resources needs to fully comply by the end of 2010 with a law that requires that emergency and medical benefits be received by applicants within 30 days. The case was brought by a Baltimore County woman who sued the state after she applied for food stamps in February but did not receive the services until April, more than 60 days after the request…”
• No food stamps blamed on Md., By Henri E. Cauvin, December 11, 2009, Washington Post: “A Maryland judge ruled Thursday that the state government is failing to provide food stamps and other public benefits as promptly as federal and state law requires. Thousands of families have been affected by the delays over the last few years, and in announcing his decision, Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams said the Maryland Department of Human Resources had engaged in a pattern and practice of violating the law. The judge gave the department 45 days to provide a plan to correct the problems and a year to bring the agency into full compliance with the laws governing food stamps, temporary cash assistance and medical aid…”

• New law to quarantine all welfare payments, By Matthew Franklin, November 25, 2009, The Australian: “Welfare recipients across Australia face compulsory income-management under a Rudd government move to ensure their payments are not being wasted on alcohol, drugs or gambling. Under legislation to be introduced into the House of Representatives today, the government will have the power to require that 50 per cent of a welfare recipient’s payments be quarantined for spending on food and the essentials of life. The significant welfare reform, in part an extension of elements of the government’s controversial intervention into indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, is designed to protect children from neglect and reduce family violence…”
• Welfare control goes country-wide, By Yuko Narushima, November 25, 2009, Sydney Morning Herald: “Compulsory income management will be expanded to welfare recipients across the country to make the Government’s control of Aboriginal welfare comply with racial discrimination laws. From July 1, the measure that forces people in remote indigenous communities to allocate half their welfare payments to food, rent and clothing, will apply to all severely disadvantaged people…”
• Welfare measure attacked, By Yuko Narushima, November 26, 2009, Sydney Morning Herald: “Expanding income management across the country will demonise more people on flawed evidence that it benefits disadvantaged communities, social service, charity and church groups say. The controversial measure, introduced in 2007 as part of the Federal Government’s intervention into the Northern Territory, was yesterday extended to low socio-economic groups across the country…”

• Cash incentive program for poor families is renewed, By Julie Bosman, September 20, 2009, New York Times: “An experimental antipoverty program that pays poor families up to $5,000 a year for going to regular medical checkups, attending school and keeping jobs has been extended for a third year. Linda I. Gibbs, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said she was encouraged by some early results in the education component of the program that showed students improved their attendance and passed more exams when they were rewarded with cash…”
• Latin America makes a dent in poverty with ‘conditional cash’ programs, By Tyler Bridges, September 21, 2009, Christian Science Monitor: “Denise de Oliveira lost her job as a janitor in June when she had to stay home to care for her 13-year-old son, who had pneumonia. The 45-year-old single mother of four has kept food on the table, however, thanks to a government program that pays her family $70 per month. ‘It doesn’t give you enough to buy everything you want, but it sure helps,’ said de Oliveira, who lives on a dirt street in this impoverished town on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Unlike traditional government handouts, however, this popular anti-poverty program, which has spread throughout Latin America and even to New York City, requires that de Oliveira’s children stay in school. The children also must have twice-a-year health exams and be vaccinated against diseases. The program goes by different names - Bolsa Familia (Family Fund) in Brazil and Oportunidades (Opportunities) in Mexico, the most populous countries it’s in - and has slightly different rules depending on the country. Analysts say it’s become the most successful anti-poverty program in years because it requires the poor to do something meaningful and measurable in exchange for government charity…”

L.A. County may spend money to try to save money on welfare, By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, September 20, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “With the cost of helping Los Angeles County’s welfare recipients expected to hit $1 billion by the end of this fiscal year, county officials are pushing a plan to shift the burden of some of the most hard-core unemployed to the federal government. If they succeed, local taxpayers could save tens of millions of dollars, and thousands of disabled welfare recipients would see their aid more than triple. But the hurdles could prove high. County officials propose spending $7.2 million to help applicants through a notoriously difficult process to qualify for federal disability assistance. The question remains: Does it make sense for the county to gamble millions now with massive state budget cuts looming?…”

Welfare checks to increase for first time in 19 years, By Julie Bosman, July 5, 2009, New York Times: “The last time welfare recipients in New York saw an increase in their basic cash allowance, Derek Jeter was in high school, a subway token cost $1.15 and David N. Dinkins had just been sworn in as mayor.  Nineteen years later, they will see another long-awaited increase beginning this month, bringing a subsidy for a typical family of three to $321 a month, from $291, city and state officials said…”