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Hunger Alert – February 2007

In this Issue:

1. Governor Spitzer’s Budget Increases Funding for Emergency Food!
2. Join us for the HANNYS / ES2 Legislative Education and Action Day, Tues. March 13th
3. Faith and Hunger Network Conference – Albany Feb 25th
4. Sign-on Forms for TANF Implementation, Raise the Welfare Grant
5. Join a new Fresh Food Initiative in West Harlem
6. Food Stamp Outreach Project in Hudson Valley
7. Make a contribution to Hunger Action Network while doing your Valentines Day shopping

 

 

Background on SSI directive:

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal benefit provided to a disabled person for the sole purpose of providing food, shelter and other necessities to the recipient, not for their family members. However, the OTDA policy has included the SSI benefit amount as a part of the total household budget for Public Assistance households with dependent children. This is a violation of New York State Social Service Law which requires that SSI be invisible in the calculation of public assistance benefits. 

With the inclusion of the SSI recipient and their benefits in the PA household size, the remaining family members receive a pro-rated grant and results in a dramatic reduction in the Public Assistance grant provided to PA households. Families hit hardest by this cut stand to lose more than 15 percent of their annual income.  This policy has led to families’ inability to pay their bills and meet their basic needs.

1.  Governor Spitzer Proposes His First Budget 

Governor Spitzer’s budget proposes a $5.15 million increase in funding for the state’s Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP).  The increase was proposed through a $5 million increase in the Department of Health funding and a $150,000 increase in TANF funds.  The Governor’s TANF spending budget continued to fund a number of Legislative Initiatives including ESL, Adult & Family Literacy, VESID and Supplemental Homeless Intervention (SHIP).  The TANF funding also continued $5 million for WIC.  We were disappointed that funding was not included to raise the Public Assistance grant and to raise the Earned Income Disregard.  However, we are hopeful that these proposals will be moved forward by the Legislature and ultimately supported by the Governor.  For a chart showing the TANF spending proposals compiled by New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, go to www.hungeractionnys.org. 
The Governor’s budget did not include state bulk purchasing of prescription drugs and using some of the savings to create a discount drug card. Nor was $500,000 appropriated for the Legislative Commission on Health Care.  However, we are optimistic that the Governor and the Legislature will move forward on these two vital initiatives especially given that a recent poll put universal health insurance as the second top priority for New Yorkers (ahead of issues such as revitalizing the upstate economy, reforming state government and funding NYC schools).
We were also pleased that the Governor’s budget included closing corporate tax loopholes which would raise $449 million in 2008 and $567 million in 2009.  The closing of these loopholes helps the state to meet the essential needs of its residents for food, housing, medicine and other important services.

2. Join us for the HANNYS / ES2 Legislative Education and Action Day (LEAD), Tues. March 13th

Our LEAD day will be at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 85 Chestnut St, Albany. There will be a briefing at 9:30 AM, a rally at noon, and legislative visits from 1 to 4 PM. Key issues for the ES2 agenda include income security for all families (e.g., higher minimum wage, welfare benefits and Earned Income Disregard); universal health care; developing a strong and educated workforce for New York; and job creation.  More details on the ES2 agenda is in Grassroots, which you can find on our web page http://hungeractionnys.org/HANNYSgrassroots.pdf.  Please email bhpham@hungeractionnys.org to register.

3. Faith and Hunger Network (FHN) Conference – Feb. 25th Albany

The Capital District FHN conference will take place on Sun. Feb. 25th at B'Nai Sholom Reform Congregation, 420 Whitehall Rd., Albany starting at 1:30 PM. The keynote speaker will be David Minor, Chair of the National Board of Directors for Bread for the World. Topics include: raising the welfare grant; the federal farm bill; and, the joint anti-hunger platform. The Food for All / FHN conference in Buffalo is expected on Saturday March 10th.

4. Sign-on Forms for TANF Implementation and Raising the Welfare Grant

A sign-on form for HANNYS’s work to Strengthen Welfare to Work Programs under TANF Implementation and Raising the Welfare Grant is attached at the end.  Please sign-on to support these important recommendations.  We thank the following groups for signing on so far:
Empire Justice Center, CUNY Law School’s Economic Justice Project, Hunger Action Network of NYS,
Community Service Society, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, Welfare Rights Initiative at Hunter College, NYC Employment and Training Coalition, Fiscal Policy Institute, New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, Metro Justice of Rochester, Homeless Alliance of Western New York, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies,
University Settlement, The Partnership for the Homeless, Mount Vernon United Tenants, NYS Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Schenectady Community Action Program, Inc., New Hope Baptist Church, Church Alive Community Church, Church Alive Development Corporation, Thorpe Family Residence, The Bridge Fund of Westchester, St. Raphael R.C. Parish, Cayuga/Seneca Community Action, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, A New Hope Center.

5. Join a new Fresh Food Initiative in West Harlem

Hunger Action and partners are increasing access to delicious farm fresh food in the West Harlem area of New York City and you are invited to join us! This innovative project increases the amount of fresh food available at Emergency Food Programs and initiates a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Project. Through the CSA, community residents will be able to receive farm fresh produce at an affordable price. Food Stamp recipients are encouraged to participate. If you’re interested in supporting a local farmer, building community connections, and receiving great food, contact Susannah at 212-741-8192, ext. 3# or spasquantonio@hungeractionnys.org.

6. Food Stamp Outreach Project in Hudson Valley

Hunger Action is initiating a campaign to increase access to the Food Stamp Program in the Hudson Valley. Only about half of the people eligible for this program are participating, and increasing participation could benefit thousands of lower income people in the area. We will be coordinating workshops, trainings, and running a free Food Stamp pre-screening help-line, among other initiatives. To find out how this project can benefit you and your community in the Hudson Valley, please contact Susannah at 212-741-8192, ext. 3# or spasquantonio@hungeractionnys.org.

7.  Make a contribution to Hunger Action Network while doing your Valentines Day shopping

GreaterGood.com, Inc. makes it free and easy to support good causes through everyday Internet use. Internet users can shop at over 100 leading online merchants – including Barnes&Noble.com, Gateway, PETsMART.com, Office Deport, Brookstone, priceline, ebay, Lands' End, Dell, Office Max, and more -- and up to 15% of each purchase automatically goes to Hunger Action Network at no extra cost to you.  THANKS for your support. Just go to our home page at http://www.greatergood.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/GreaterGood.woa/wa/shoppingVillage?svid=hannys

 

Sign On Form:
Strengthen Welfare-to-Work Programs under TANF Implementation
Raise the Welfare Grant

I. A TANF Implementation Agenda

Last year Congress enacted changes in the federal welfare (TANF) program. In 2007, New York is facing key choices. The federal regulations substantially increase the proportion of assistance recipients who must participate in work activities.  We will need an additional 7,000 to 10,000 TANF recipients monthly in federally countable activities or else the State will face possible federal penalties.

We want the state to meet its increased work participation rates by improving the quality of its welfare-to-work programs, increasing engagement in those programs, and extending supports to low-income working families. Below is an outline of some of the reforms we are proposing.

Expand access to education and training programs for welfare recipients. Many public assistance participants need education and vocational training in order to get jobs paying family-sustaining wages and benefits.  NY should maximize participation in programs like GED, adult literacy and ESL, while allowing qualified individuals to complete two-year Associates degree programs.

Create income supports and transitional jobs. Enact a wage supplement program which provides cash payments on top of earnings from wages. Increase the Earned Income Disregard to allow welfare participants who work to keep more of their wages.

Address the needs of people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. A significant percentage of public assistance recipients struggle with disabilities – particularly mental disabilities – and other barriers to employment.  The State should develop a screening tool to identify clients with disabilities and mandate that localities offer screening to their clients.  More intensive case services should be provided.

II. Raise the Welfare Grant
Welfare helps poor children and their parents obtain basic necessities such as heat, housing, food and clothing. Unless a welfare recipient is unable to work because they are elderly, a child, or suffers from a disability, there are strict work requirements that they must comply with or face losing their assistance. The Governor and the State Legislature have not raised the welfare grant since 1990. The value of welfare benefits has fallen to only half of the federal poverty level. 577,000 New Yorkers are on Temporary Assistance including 333,000 children. For more than a decade the courts have repeatedly ruled that welfare payments for housing are illegally low.  In 1975 public assistance for a three-person family was equal to 110% of the Federal Poverty Level.
Proposal: Increase the non-shelter portion of the public assistance grant from $291 to $450 for a family of three to reflect increase in the cost of living since the last adjustment in 1990. Fuel for Heating Allowances should be increased to account for inflationary increases since the last adjustments in 1987. A commission should be established to investigate the adequacy of all public assistance allowances and to recommend mechanisms to provide for annual cost adjustments.
Sign On Form

___ My organization supports the TANF Implementation Agenda
___ My organization supports Raise the Welfare Grant.

Organization _______________________________________ Contact ____________________________
Address __________________________ Town / City __________ Zip _____________
Phone (__________)____________________ Email ____________________________________

Return to: HANNYS, 275 State St, Albany, NY 12210 . Fax: 212 741-7236. Or email this information to: bhpham@hungeractionnys.org