Massachusetts House Votes to Repeal the Family Welfare Cap
BOSTON ??? April 26, 2018 ??? The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted unanimously this week to repeal the family welfare cap. The family cap denies children in deep poverty $100 a month in aid and a clothing allowance of $300 a year if the child was conceived while the family was receiving benefits. The new language, effective July 1, 2019, says “aid shall be provided for each such child or children without regard to whether the child was conceived or born after the parent began receiving aid.”????
Representative Marjorie Decker (D ??? Cambridge) is the lead sponsor of the House Bill to repeal the family cap, and was the lead sponsor of the repeal amendment, together with 86 other House members ??? a majority of the House.?? The Coalition to Lift the Cap on Kids includes 118 wide-ranging organizations supporting family cap repeal.????
As a result of the Cap on Kids, enacted in 1995, Massachusetts does not provide benefits for 8,700 children living in deep poverty. Their parents struggle to provide even the most basic essentials for their children, including diapers, clothing and food.??
???Massachusetts took a step in the right direction with this vote by the House,??? said Deborah Harris of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a lead member of the Campaign to Lift the Cap on Kids. ???We are grateful to Speaker DeLeo and Chairman Sanchez for their leadership and support, and to Representative Decker who has been a leading advocate on this issue from day one.???
???The Cap on Kids has been harmful to children and their families, forcing parents to make incredibly difficult decisions about what basic necessities they may not be able to provide for their children,??? said Naomi Meyer of Greater Boston Legal Services, a lead member of the Campaign to Lift the Cap on Kids.?? ???We are grateful to all of the House members who supported repealing the family cap.???
Massachusetts is one of only 17 states – including Arkansas, Mississippi, and North Carolina ??? that still have a Cap on Kids.??