A Public Assistance Grant Increase - Finally!

August 13, 2009

Author: Don Friedman

The New York State Legislature did something quite remarkable this session; luckily it occurred before the Senate descended into paralysis.  In the course of the budget process, the Legislature adopted – and Governor Paterson then approved – an increase in the basic allowance portion of the public assistance grant for the first time in nearly twenty years.  The first step of the increase, which will be phased in over three years, took place on July 1 and should have been reflected in recipients’ July benefits.

The public assistance grant can be seen as having three components:

(a)  The shelter allowance, covering rent or mortgage payments,
(b)  The home energy allowance, and
(c)  The basic allowance, which theoretically covers all other expenses.

The shelter portion of the grant received a modest increase in 2003, but the basic allowance had not been increased 1990. In that time, the cost of living has risen in New York by more than 70%. Looked at another way, in 1975, the typical welfare grant would bring a family of three to about 110% of the federal poverty level (FPL). But by 2009, the grant’s value had decreased to about 50% of the FPL.  Even when supplemented with Food Stamps, it has been a long time since the basic allowance has enabled a household to meet even its most basic needs.  So this increase in the grant is long overdue and most welcome.

The basic allowance will be increased in the following manner:

(a)  On July 1, 2009, the monthly basic allowance for a household of three increased from $238 to $268.
(b)  On July 1, 2010, the monthly basic allowance will increase to $300.
(c)  On July 1, 2011, the monthly basic allowance will increase to $335.

To provide one example of how this will affect a typical family, I will look at the change in the overall public assistance grant for Suffolk County, where my office is located.  Prior to this past July, a family of three in Suffolk received a shelter grant, home energy allowance and basic allowance totaling $738.  This past July 1, the grant should have increased to $768; in July 2010 it will increase to $800, and in July 2011 it will increase one more time, to a total of $835. Over the three-year period the entire grant will have increased by about 13%.

For a complete overview of the household grants for all counties and all household sizes since July 1, 2009, please feel free to consult the Empire Justice Center website.  It should be noted that an important feature that helped
ensure adoption of the grant increase was the state’s commitment to pay the cost of these three years of increases. Generally such costs would be shared by the state and the counties.

It must be recognized that this increase will not restore the public assistance grant to its 1975 value; nor will it bring family income even to the level attained in 1990, the year that the basic allowance was last increased.  Nevertheless, the increase, particularly when combined with recent Food Stamp increases, will certainly help poor New York households to weather this very difficult economic period. The critical efforts on behalf of this measure demonstrated by the State Legislature, particularly the Social Services Committees in both the Assembly and Senate, the Governor’s support in an austere budget year, and the tireless work of a group of dedicated advocates are much appreciated.