2020 -- S 2203

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LC004152

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES - THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM

     

     Introduced By: Senators Murray, Felag, Satchell, Goodwin, and Seveney

     Date Introduced: February 04, 2020

     Referred To: Senate Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Legislative declaration.

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     (a) The general assembly finds and declares that:

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     (1) The stress caused by living in poverty can inhibit young children's early brain

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development and negatively impact children's ability to succeed in school and to develop the

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social-emotional skills needed to succeed as an adult;

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     (2) One study found that children experiencing poverty between birth and age five (5)

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completed two (2) fewer years of school and were nearly three (3) times more likely to be in poor

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health as adults;

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      (3) Rhode Island families of all backgrounds work hard to provide a better life for their

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children. However, poverty rates among children in Rhode Island vary by race and ethnicity as a

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result of policies and practices that have created and maintained inequitable opportunities in areas

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such as housing and employment;

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     (4) In 2018, roughly one hundred sixty-five thousand (165,000) children in Rhode Island

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were experiencing extreme poverty in families whose income was fifty percent (50%) below the

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federal poverty level, or about twelve thousand seven hundred thirty-three dollars ($12,733) a

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year for a family of four (4) with two (2) children;

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     (5) Basic cash assistance is the most targeted approach Rhode Island can take to reducing

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extreme childhood poverty, which has a lifelong impact on a child's well-being;

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     (6) Income supports, such as basic cash assistance, are one important strategy to decrease

 

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the number of children experiencing poverty and should be combined with work and other

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supports to lift children and families out of poverty;

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     (7) The purchasing power of the basic cash assistance in Rhode Island has not kept up

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with the cost of living because it has not been adjusted for inflation since 1991;

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     (8) As housing costs have continued to increase in Rhode Island, basic cash assistance

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has not kept up and is far below the cost of rent for a family. The average rent for a two (2)-

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bedroom apartment is almost three (3) times the amount of the monthly cash assistance benefit

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for a family with one adult and two (2) children.

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      (b) Therefore, it is the intent of the general assembly to adjust the amount of basic cash

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assistance to make up for the lack of adjustment for inflation and to lift families out of deep

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poverty (fifty percent (50%) of the federal poverty guideline) over a two (2) year period. It is

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also the intent of the general assembly to implement an annual cost of living adjustment thereafter

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so the value of basic cash assistance does not continue to erode in future years.

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     SECTION 2. Section 40-5.2-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 40-5.2 entitled "The

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Rhode Island Works Program" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     40-5.2-11. Cash assistance.

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     (a) A family or assistance unit found by the department to meet the eligibility criteria set

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forth in this chapter shall be eligible to receive cash assistance as of the date a signed written

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application, signed under a penalty of perjury, is received by the department.

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     (b) The family members or assistance unit shall be eligible for cash assistance for so long

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as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria outlined in accordance with this chapter. Parents

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and adult non-parent caretaker relatives receiving cash assistance shall be eligible so long as they

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meet the terms and conditions of the work requirements of ยง 40-5.2-12. An adult caretaker

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relative shall be eligible for assistance as a member of the assistance unit so long as he/she meets

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all the eligibility requirements of this chapter.

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     (c) The monthly amount of cash assistance shall be equal to the payment standard for the

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family minus the countable income of the family in that month. The department is authorized to

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reduce the amount of assistance in the month of application to reflect the number of the days

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between the first day of the month and the effective date of the application.

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     (d) A decision of the application for assistance shall be made or rejected by the

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department no later than thirty (30) days following the date submitted and shall be effective as of

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the date of application.

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     (e) The payment standard is equal to the sum of the following: three hundred twenty-

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seven dollars ($327) (two hundred seventy-seven dollars ($277) for a family residing in

 

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subsidized housing) for the first person, one hundred twenty-two dollars ($122) for the second

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person, one hundred five dollars ($105) for the third person and eighty dollars ($80) for each

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additional person.

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     (e) Effective October 1, 2020, the payment standard for the assistance unit shall be no

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less than forty percent (40%) of the poverty guideline for the comparable assistance unit size as

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determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for calendar year 2020.

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Effective October 1, 2021, the payment standard for the assistance unit shall be no less than fifty

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percent (50%) of the poverty guideline for the comparable assistance unit size as determined by

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the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for calendar year 2021. Thereafter, the

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payment standard shall be adjusted in October of each year to be no less than fifty percent (50%)

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of the poverty guideline for the comparable assistance unit size as determined by the U.S.

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Department of Health and Human Services for that calendar year.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES - THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM

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     This act would adjust the amount of basic cash assistance provided to families living in

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deep poverty over a two-year period, and would implement an annual cost of living adjustment so

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that value of basic cash assistance does not erode in the future.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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