California is trying to make its cash assistance program more flexible for low-income parents. Advocates say a federal rule is hindering that
April Acosta at Morgan Park in Baldwin Park on April 25, 2022."It's difficult being a mom and being a student, and also doing well," Acosta, the mother of two, said. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters.By clicking subscribe, you agree to share your email address with CalMatters to receive marketing, updates, and other emails.
She continued taking jobs, off and on, that would have met the program’s requirements, but they didn’t help her get ahead. They were a patchwork of “lower-end,” often temporary office jobs, answering phones and filing papers. Now at 51 she says she has rarely made much above minimum wage. But advocates for the poor and many policy experts have long criticized the federal rules as rigid, punitive and born out of racist tropes about Black single mothers abusing welfare. They say it sometimes hurts those it’s supposed to help.“The current program is really just focused on: can you get people into jobs as much as possible. Everything else is secondary,” said Esi Hutchful, policy analyst at the California Budget and Policy Center, which advocates for low-income Californians.
The state has tried to loosen work restrictions over the years, as similar efforts at the federal level have stalled. “We recognize together the flaws embedded in just having this metric,” said Kim Johnson, director of the state’s Department of Social Services earlier this month. “We would recognize that work and employment are one component of many in terms of the success of CalWorks.”
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