Bill would boost RI Works and link benefits to federal poverty level

"If we do not do something to lift children and families out of poverty in the state of Rhode Island, what will happen to them?”

Before 2021, Rhode Island went 30 years without increasing the benefits provided through RI Works, the cash assistance and the work-readiness program for low-income children and their families. The Raising RI Coalition met on Tuesday in the Rhode Island State House Library to announce their support for legislation to improve the program.

“I want to start by sharing some numbers,” said Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies, Executive Director of the Economic Progress Institute.

• 30. It took 30 years to increase the cash benefits from 30% of the federal poverty level to 40% in 2021.

• 35%. That 40% increase we got in 2021 is now at 35% value because of inflation. That's a 5% decrease.

• $721 per month. That is the cash assistance a family of three has to rely on monthly based on what they're currently receiving in the Rhode Island Works program. We are talking about people who are living in deep poverty.

• 5,000. That's the number of children who are receiving Rhode Island Works benefits.

“In his last speech, the night before he was assassinated, Dr. King reflected on the Parable of the Good Samaritan and he challenged the audience in that speech to ask a question when there are others who need our help, like that person on the roadside needed the Good Samaritan's help, and the question is, ‘If we do not help them, what will happen to them?’” said Executive Director Nelson Davies. “When we have children and families in the State of Rhode Island living in extremely deep poverty, I would like us to ask ourselves that question. I would like the General Assembly members and Governors when they're introducing bills, supporting bills, and putting together a state budget, to ask the question, ‘If we do not do something to lift children and families out of poverty in the state of Rhode Island, what will happen to them?’”

Representative Arthur Handy (Democrat, District 18, Cranston) and Senator Melissa Murray (Democrat, District 24, North Smithfield, Woonsocket), who have been pushing to improve the program for years, have introduced legislation (House Bill 7686 and Senate Bill 2337) that would boost benefits and link them to the federal poverty limit so their value keeps pace with the changing economy. The legislation also aims to prevent children from losing their benefits if their parent is sanctioned and to restore eligibility to lawful permanent residents (LPR) without a years-long waiting period.

“The members of the Raising RI Coalition are back,” said Executive Director Nelson Davies, “because there's still more left to be done. We are here to:

• “Protect vulnerable populations from inflation and ensure that they do not bear the burns of economic instability. By increasing the monthly benefit to a mere 50% of the federal poverty level and incorporating that crucial and critical cost of living adjustment, we will be taking concrete and intentional steps to do something to help Rhode Islanders;

• “Push for the repeal of the full family sanction. This is punitive, not based on justice, and it's not based on compassion. It disproportionately impacts children and families already burdened by significant barriers;

• “Remind ourselves that legal permanent residents, children, and families are also Rhode Island residents. By extending the Rhode Island Works benefit to LPR families we are not only upholding our values of fairness and equality but joining the rank of 13 other states who have done this; and,

• “Ask ourselves the question, ‘If we do not help the poorest in our state, what will happen to them?’”

The legislation would help the families of the 5,000 Rhode Island children who receive RI Works benefits this year, and ensure cash benefits keep pace with the times by setting them at 50% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Currently, cash benefits equal only about 35% of the FPL– just $721 a month for a family of three. That family would receive $1,036 monthly if the benefits were 50% of the FPL right now.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the federal block grant, can be used to fund the proposed increase of the monthly benefit amount, the cost-of-living adjustment, and the repealing of full family sanctions.

The bill would also repeal a law that punishes the whole family if a parent is sanctioned under the program. Currently, a family’s case is closed and the entire family, including children, lose the RI Works benefit if a parent is sanctioned three times during their lifetime.

According to the Raising RI Coalition, sanctions harm children, fall disproportionately on parents who have significant barriers including physical and mental health challenges, limited education, and domestic violence, and do not improve program compliance. Reopening cases is an administrative burden for the Rhode Island Department of Human Services.

The bill would also eliminate the five-year waiting period for immigrants with lawful permanent resident status. Until 2007, lawful permanent residents were not subject to this waiting period.

“Rhode Island must address the systemic issues of poverty to become a more prosperous state. There is no other option. Children in poverty - especially those who experience poverty as young children and for extended periods - are more likely to have physical and behavioral health challenges, experience hunger, have difficulty in school, become teen parents, and earn less or be unemployed as adults,” said Paige Clausius-Parks, executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. “The RI Works Program is intended to serve as a safety net and workforce development program for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children and families, but there are too many holes in this net. House Bill 7686 and Senate Bill 2337 championed by Rep. Handy and Sen. Murray can keep Rhode Island moving toward the goal of ending child poverty in Rhode Island.”

In December 2022, 70% of RI Works beneficiaries were children, and 39% of the children enrolled were under the age of six.

According to the 2023 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook, total expenditures for cash assistance in Rhode Island have declined steadily since the program began in 1996, and are now less than 15% of what they were in 1996. In 1996, the state spent a total of $126.5 million in state and federal funds. In 2022, the state spent just $18.6 million, all of which was federal funding. No state funding has gone to cash assistance since 2010. In 1996, the program assisted 18,428 Rhode Island families. In December 2022, only 3,101 families received cash assistance, an 83% reduction.