ALBANY - Sadie Boyd cried openly Tuesday as she explained her struggle to feed and clothe her family.
The 44-year-old mother of 11 joined religious groups Tuesday in calling on Gov. Eliot Spitzer to increase welfare benefits in the 2008-2009 budget. The welfare grant has not been significantly increased since 1990.
“Give us a chance to be able to save, you know, to be able to be independent and (so) we don't have to rely on the welfare program,” Boyd said at an Albany news conference.
New York's spending on cash assistance has declined by $2.1 billion since 1995, according to a report compiled by the labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute. Advocates for the poor complain that as inflation has gone up, welfare benefits have remained static.
The basic welfare grant is now $291 a month for a family of three, while additional assistance with rent varies by county, said Anthony Farmer, a spokesman for the state Office of Temporary and Disability Services. Many families also receive federal housing assistance.
Representatives from the Hunger Action Network of New York state want the government to increase the grant to $475 to reflect inflation of more than 60 percent since 1990, said Associate Director Mark Dunlea.
They urged Spitzer to form a commission that would continue to increase the grant.
“New York is in the same situation as about half the states in that they haven't changed their maximum benefit level since before the (federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program started in 1997,” said Jack Tweedie, the director of the children and families program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. TANF grants the states funds to develop their own assistance programs.
The state has decreased the number of people who receive cash payments because welfare programs began to focus more on supporting work and providing other assistance like child care subsidies, Tweedie said. The idea was to create incentives for recipients to find jobs.
“The number of recipients (of cash benefits) had declined by more than 1.1 million, a 68 percent decrease from the historic high of April 1994,” Farmer said. “For the roughly 500,000 still receiving cash assistance, we will continue efforts to get them the services they need.”
Boyd said she hasn't had a job in five years and no one will hire her because of a felony assault charge from 20 years ago. She said she's been on and off of some kind of public assistance for about 15 years.
The federal poverty level for family of four in 2007 is $20,650 a year, or $1,720.83 a month.
“Give us a chance to be able to save, you know, to be able to be independent and (so) we don't have to rely on the welfare program,” Boyd said at an Albany news conference.
New York's spending on cash assistance has declined by $2.1 billion since 1995, according to a report compiled by the labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute. Advocates for the poor complain that as inflation has gone up, welfare benefits have remained static.
The basic welfare grant is now $291 a month for a family of three, while additional assistance with rent varies by county, said Anthony Farmer, a spokesman for the state Office of Temporary and Disability Services. Many families also receive federal housing assistance.
Representatives from the Hunger Action Network of New York state want the government to increase the grant to $475 to reflect inflation of more than 60 percent since 1990, said Associate Director Mark Dunlea.
They urged Spitzer to form a commission that would continue to increase the grant.
“New York is in the same situation as about half the states in that they haven't changed their maximum benefit level since before the (federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program started in 1997,” said Jack Tweedie, the director of the children and families program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. TANF grants the states funds to develop their own assistance programs.
The state has decreased the number of people who receive cash payments because welfare programs began to focus more on supporting work and providing other assistance like child care subsidies, Tweedie said. The idea was to create incentives for recipients to find jobs.
“The number of recipients (of cash benefits) had declined by more than 1.1 million, a 68 percent decrease from the historic high of April 1994,” Farmer said. “For the roughly 500,000 still receiving cash assistance, we will continue efforts to get them the services they need.”
Boyd said she hasn't had a job in five years and no one will hire her because of a felony assault charge from 20 years ago. She said she's been on and off of some kind of public assistance for about 15 years.
The federal poverty level for family of four in 2007 is $20,650 a year, or $1,720.83 a month.
