Governor Reverses Planned TAFDC Cuts

On Wednesday, January 6^th, Governor Deval Patrick reversed a deep cut to the state’s TAFDC program, which provides subsistence benefits to very low income families in Massachusetts.

“The Governor has stayed true to his commitment to protect vulnerable children,” said Deborah Harris, staff attorney at Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. “If the cut had gone through, thousands of desperately poor families would have been unable to pay rent and would have lost their homes, jeopardizing children’s safety, health and ability to learn, and increasing costs to the Commonwealth.”

The cut – originally scheduled to go into effect on January 1 – would have eliminated benefits for children in 8,400 families where the parent is disabled and receives SSI benefits and would have drastically reduced benefits for children in another 700 families.

In November the Legislature postponed the cut’s effective date for a month to allow time to work out a solution. MLRI, local legal services programs, many other advocacy organizations, and a number of legislators were instrumental in getting the cut postponed and reversed.

About MLRI

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is a non-profit legal services organization committed to promoting social and economic justice across Massachusetts through advocacy, education and legal action. Its mission is to ensure the fundamental needs of traditionally underserved, low-income populations are met, and to advocate for systemic reforms to policies and practices that harm people living in poverty. MLRI’s staff work in a variety of fields, including housing, health care, public benefits, immigration law, court reform, employment law, racial equity, elder law, education and family law.

MLRI also provides support to client-based legal services organizations so they may best serve their constituencies. A 2008 assessment of MLRI conducted by three experienced, national peer reviewers affirmed that MLRI “is one of the premier state support centers in the country” and “remains the backbone of the Massachusetts civil legal aid delivery system.”

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Date Posted: 1/7/2010 3:23 pm