Pa. reinstating program to aid poorest citizens

Applications began being accepted on Monday from the state's poorest citizens for a cash assistance program being reinstated next month after a six-year hiatus despite some lawmakers' concerns about where the money will come from to pay for it.

The general assistance program provides about $205 a month to eligible recipients who are unable to earn an income for a limited number of reasons and in many cases, for a limited period of time.

At the time the program ceased, the state was spending about $150 million annually to provide the cash assistance to about 68,000 individuals, most of them childless adults with a temporary or permanent disability waiting for the Social Security Administration to rule on their application for disability benefits.

Diana Polson, a policy analyst for the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, said:
"This is a critical program that helps some of Pennsylvania's most vulnerable: people with disabilities; children who are not living with a relative; people caring for an unrelated child or for someone who is ill or disabled; victims of domestic violence; or those who are in a drug or alcohol treatment program that prevents them from working,"

https://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/08/pa_reinstating_program_to_aid.html