Without Welfare Increases, NJ’s Safety Net Is in Tatters
In a cruel irony, the administration’s reinterpretation of the rules denies emergency assistance to the poor because they are poor
Cuts over the past two years to general and emergency assistance and inadequate monthly stipends provided by Work First New Jersey, the state’s welfare program, have left New Jersey’s safety net in tatters, advocates say.
Work First, which manages federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding (the federal welfare program), has not increased its monthly payments in 29 years and now provides one of the smallest stipends in the nation. At the same time, advocates say, the Christie administration is denying more applications for emergency assistance than in the past as part of a concerted effort to reduce aid, cutting off hundreds of potential recipients and starving homeless shelters of funding. The system, shelter providers say, is in crisis.
Read more: http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/06/29/christie-s-welfare-cuts-leave-nj-safety-net-in-tatters/
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