Faith and Hunger Network

Faith and Anti-Poverty Urge New York to Raise the Welfare Basic Grant by at least 25%

New Federal Welfare Funding Would Help Pick Up Much of the Additional Cost

The Faith and Hunger Network, along with anti-poverty and human service groups, called today upon state lawmakers to raise the basic welfare grant more than the 10% proposed by Governor Paterson. Paterson has proposed 10% a year for three years.

The group has been urging lawmakers to adopt the proposal last year by Sen. Montgomery to raise the welfare grant by 25% but some lawmakers are now suggesting that in light of the recent infusion of federal welfare dollars that they should just do the three year proposed phase-in all at once.

The state is eligible for as much as half a billion dollars in extra federal welfare dollars due to the surge in food stamp enrollment and the recent federal economic stimulus. In addition to approving a larger grant hike, the groups say the new federal money should be used to prevent cuts in a variety of human service programs, including SSI, as well as increased investment in job creation and training for welfare participants.

The basic welfare grant of $291 a month for a family of 3 has not been raised in 18 years. Governor Paterson, when he released the state budget last November, included the three year, 10% a year hike in the basic grant that the State Assembly had included in their budget proposal last year. Since it would not take effect until January 1, 2010, the fiscal impact in this year’s budget is only $8 million.

The overall welfare benefit package now comes to less than 50% of the federal poverty level.

Speakers at the news conference include Rev. Jim Reisner of Westminster Presbyterian Church and Demi McGuire of the NY Episcopal Policy Network and NYS Council of Churches. Reisner discussed the increased demand at local food pantries and soup kitchens. He noted that they were seeing both new families and well as families who were being forced back into poverty. McGuire mentioned that the state’s Episcopal Bishops had met with Governor Paterson earlier this week to urge him to support a larger welfare grant hike.

"Housing Works believes that the stimulus money coming into New York State could be used to stave off cuts to HIV Welfare-to-Work and the cut of the State's share to SSI. But the influx of federal money that is earmarked for the enhancement of public assistance benefits should not only be used to trigger an April 1st start date for the release of these funds to the poor and needy but to also to give an additional bump to the amount that is currently stated in the Executive Budget. We urge Governor Paterson to use these dollars to provide the care and support to the neediest especially during these troubled times," said Terri Smith-Caronia of Housing Works, where she is Vice-President of New York Advocacy and Public Policy.

Faith leaders point out that the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions speak for the dignity of people in poverty in God’s sight and assigns responsibility to the community to address and alleviate such inequities. Churches, synagogues, and mosques provide food, clothing, housing, health care, and job assistance to those in need.

Earlier this year more than sixty faith leaders wrote to Governor Paterson urging a hike in the welfare basic grant. “Our charitable contributions are no substitute for government action and economic justice. It is wrong that in this, the richest nation, New York leads in the growing gap between the poor and rich. Nothing illustrates that gap better than the decline in value of welfare benefits. An entire generation of children has grown up since the last increase in the basic grant eighteen years ago; even at that point it failed to meet basic social and constitutional responsibilities to care for the needy.”

“We have waited more than two decades to finally see a welfare grant hike. An extra $1 a day for a family of three after all this time just isn’t enough. We understand that the budget is tight but with the state receiving hundreds of millions of extra dollars for welfare program, this is the time to give a little more. Putting money into the hands of poor New Yorker is also the best economic stimulus, because it gets spent immediately in the local community on basic necessities,” stated Mark Dunlea, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network.

Assembly Social Services Committee Keith Wright has said that he supports a larger hike than what Governor Paterson has proposed but he has not publicly committed to a specific number yet. "The Hunger Action Network has been a staunch advocate for the lower income and working families of New York State. As Chairman of the State Assembly Social Services Committee, I am grateful for the hard work and dedication which advocacy agencies provide for our neediest residents. The general welfare grant is an integral part of our state safety net and the New York State Assembly remains committed to its preservation," said Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright of Harlem.

A series of studies by Hunger Action Network in Buffalo, Westchester, Albany and NYC showed that a typical shopping list of basic items covered by the basic welfare grant have grown at a rate two to three times the cost of living since the last grant hike in 1990. The cost of living has gone up more than 60% over the last 18 years.

Governor Paterson announced last week that due to increases in the food stamp caseload, NY was eligible to receive $162.4 million from the federal TANF contingency funding. If additional existing State matching funds can be identified, and if sufficient federal funding remains available, New York will be able to receive a total of $400 million by September 30, 2009. This funding can be used for the same purpose as regular TANF funds and must be used in the fiscal year in which they are awarded.

In addition, the recent federal economic stimulus package allows states to spend up to $5 billion on additional TANF expenditures. The state, subject to caps, can draw down as much as 80% for increasing expenditures for basic assistance, non-recurrent short-term payments, and subsidized employment. The first two categories require at least some increase in the caseload (which is likely due to the recession); employment does not. It is expected that the State will qualify for several hundred million dollars extra starting in Federal Fiscal Year 2009 due to increases in caseload, which begins this October.

The groups are also urging an increased investments in job creation, including transitional jobs, for welfare participants. The federal government has consistently ranked New York among the worst states (between number 45 and 48) in helping to move participants from welfare to work. The groups have also been requesting a meeting with the Governor

To account for the changes in the cost of living since the last adjustment in 1990, the basic grant would need to increase from $291 to $492 a month for a family of three. (Unfortunately, the grant was inadequate in 1990, so this is a low benchmark.)

The shelter allowance is so far below fair market rents that almost all welfare participants must divert some of their basic grant to rent. The only change in the shelter allowance in the last 20 years was a minor adjustment for families with children as a result of the longstanding Jiggetts lawsuit. (As a result of the lawsuit, NYC also created a Family Eviction Prevention Supplement.) For example, in Monroe County a family of three with children heating with gas has a shelter allowance of $397 per month, while the HUD 2008 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $773. In New York City, a family of three with children has a shelter allowance of $400 per month, while the HUD 2008 Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan is $1,318.

The federal poverty level is $17,600 for a family of 3.