State weighs added benefits for families in ‘deep poverty’
“Anti-poverty advocates are making a push to expand welfare benefits as part of a campaign to lift tens of thousands of children out of “deep poverty.”
One proposal, backed by more than half of the 200-member state Legislature, would increase welfare benefits through the state’s primary cash assistance program, known as Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children, by 20% each year until the payments reach 50% of the federal poverty level.
That would raise benefits for an average family of three to $915 a month.
Last year, lawmakers approved a plan to increase child welfare benefits for the first time in two decades, but advocates say more help is needed.”