House Human Services Committee supports five-year cap on welfare benefits

By Alicia Freese. Reposted from VTDigger.org, March 22, 2013.  “The House Human Services Committee voted Friday to support a 60-month cap on the state’s family welfare program. The committee’s endorsement came with a number of caveats and changes, but it keeps in tact the main precept of the Shumlin administration’s proposal — that the state should limit welfare benefits. The proposal enacts a firm five-year cap on Reach Up benefits. It pushes back the onset of the cap, giving all but 20 families who are currently under sanctions, seven more months to prepare for it. The proposal also offers a handful of exemptions that would extend the cap for some families, and it carves out a one-time appropriation to provide additional services to families approaching the 60-month limit…A handful of members, including the Human Services Committee chair, Rep. Ann Pugh, D-South Burlington, remain adamantly opposed to the recommendations sent to Appropriations…” Link to Full VTDigger.org Article  Read Full PDF of VTDigger Article

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