That's when a one-year lifetime limit on cash assistance kicked in for families receiving help from the Temporary Aid to Needy Families program. It means an estimated 2,500 people — including 1,500 kids — will no longer qualify for the modest stipends the program provides. The average payment is $278.
When the Legislature approved the one-year limit last year, the justification was financial: The state was in a budget crunch and savings had to be found. But since then, state coffers have rebounded and, this year, lawmakers faced a modest surplus. Despite that, proposals from Democrats and advocates for the poor to keep the program at its two-year limit went unheeded.
"Are you kidding me?" asked Darlene Newsome, who runs the UMOM shelter for homeless families. "Are they telling people you can only be extremely poor for one year in your life?"
For Sandra Godinez, the benefit — $108 a month for her and her three children — was small, but helpful. However, as the cut-off date neared, she landed a better deal: She got a job through a state-run employment program that is tied to the cash-assistance program.
"It feels like we are free and we've had a chance to start over," said Godinez, 27, who fled a domestic-violence situation and was temporarily homeless last year.
