Supplemental Budget

Lawmakers this year passed a strong state supplemental budget that made targeted investments in state assistance programs. These investments in the social services and programs that aid low-income communities during times of hardship are an essential step in strengthening our state’s safety net. They include:

• $15 million increased fundingtoward the state’s Housing & Essential Needs (HEN) program, which offers housing assistance to adults with temporary disabilities;

• A total of $5.7 million over the course of three years will be invested in extending the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) homelessness grace period from the current 4 months to 12 months, which will provide increased access and support to families experiencing homelessness;

• $5 million investment in a Homelessness Prevention Pilot Program, which will offer a shallow rent subsidy for people living on Social Security in high cost of living areas of the state;

• The elimination of the state’s reduced “supplied shelter grant,” referred to by advocates as a “shelter penalty” grant, which offered a reduced grant to people with safe, no-cost housing; 

• An investment of $4 million ensures that all recipients will receive a standard monthly cash grant for the program they are eligible for– regardless of their housing situation;

• $2.8 million toward Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), funding that will implement several new policy changes: allowing families to receive a portion of their child-support payments and easing full-family sanction and time-limit policies.