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Current: HPRP
Success! New legislation gives recent Iraqi immigrants refugee status
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ACTION ALERT:
December 1, 2010- Call Senators and State Reps to voice support of the DREAM Act
August 19, 2010- Urge Sen. Kerry to support the restoration of SNAP
April 27, 2010- Urge Congress to extend jobless benefits and promote long-term job growth
April 23, 2010- Urge State Representatives to support amendment to restore critical funding for emergency food distribution
April 21, 2010- Urge State Representatives to support amendments to emergency assistance
February 11, 2010- Urge Committee Chairs to move forward "An Act to Establish a Special Commission on Gender-Responsive Programming for High Risk and System-Involved Girls"
February 3, 2010- Urge Legislators to support "An Act Establishing Paid Sick Days"
January 8, 2010- Urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation
January 7, 2010- Help stem family homelessness: ask for HPRP to be included in the Federal Jobs Bill
NEWS:
July 21, 2010 - Catholic Charities of Boston signs on Tell Fiscal Commission: Don't Harm Low-Income People
May 20, 2010- Catholic Charities signs on to letter advocating for youth jobs
April 27, 2010- Catholic Charities signs on to national letter asking congress to fund the national housing trust fund
April 23, 2010- CLINIC urges USCIS to take additional steps to help Haiti quake victims
March 8, 2010- Catholic Charities President asks Secretary Vilsack for SNAP benefits for protected Haitians
March 8, 2010- Coalition responds to $16 mil in DCF cuts
January 28, 2010- Coalition responds to $16 mil in DCF cuts
January 20, 2010- HHS Releases $490 Million in Emergency Funding to States for Energy Assistance for Low-Income Families
January 14, 2010- Catholic Charities Boston signs on to fix current broken immigration system
January 7, 2010- New language gives recent Iraqi immigrants refugee status
January 6, 2010- The Administration rescinds planned cuts in support to children of disabled parents
January 5, 2010- Protect the Safety Net for Children of Parents with Disabilities
State Legislation
The Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (7004-9024): $36 million The Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program has been a Patrick Administration priority throughout the economic downturn. We believe MRVP is the most effective tool to immediately address the excessive demand on shelters. In addition, because the average income is just $11,000 for current voucher holders, a cut to the program will add to homelessness immediately. We request funding of at least $36 million for MRVP, which will fund 5,247 existing voucher commitments. However, we also want to highlight that if MRVP were funded sufficiently in FY'10 to provide an additional 2,000 vouchers (costing approximately $22,000,000), the emergency assistance program would not have required a significant supplemental budget appropriation ($41,900,000) because an additional 2,000 homeless families would have been housed instead of sheltered.
Child care for low-income families
Child care for children of low-income families has been cut in each round of budget reductions over the past eighteen months. The waiting list for income-eligible families seeking child care is currently at 22,000. Many of these working families are left to find make-shift, unmonitored and unsafe care in order to keep their jobs and contribute to the Massachusetts economy. As an organization focused on serving these families, this is extremely troubling to us. As part of MADCA, we have sent a letter to the Governor expressing these concerns. the EEC Board recently forwarded a budget proposal that reduces funding for access to child care for children of low-income working families by $28 Million in FY11. As there has been no reduction in federal funding for this account nor are funds being returned to the federal government, we would like to inquire as to what other priority usage this funding has been reallocated at EOHHS?
On October 29, the Governor cut $15.8M from TAFDC (4403-2000), the program that provides monthly subsistence benefits to low-income children and their families. This cut was on top of an $8.2M projected deficit due to increased demand for such benefits in these horrible economic times. To close the resulting TAFDC deficit, the Administration has proposed eliminating or drastically reducing these already very low subsistence benefits to thousands of children whose parents are so disabled they receive federal SSI benefits. The Administration miscalculated how much its original gap-closing proposal would “save”––failing to take into account increased costs for the SSI State Supplement and family homeless shelters. Any cut in the TAFDC benefit – which has lost 74 % of its value since 1988––would put families at the margin of subsistence over the edge, would exacerbate the problem of homelessness, and would have long term adverse impacts on children’s development and learning.
Federal Legislation
The federal government released money this past year for homelessness prevention and re-housing efforts related to the recession--known by several names including Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP) and stimulus money. As a result of this and the deeper than projected recession, the United States Senate is drafting a jobs bill, and there is a national effort to include additional HPRP money in the bill.
See: Action Alert: Help stem family homelessness: ask for HPRP to be included in the Federal Jobs Bill
Success! New language gives recent Iraqi immigrants refugee status
See: New legislation proposed to give recent Iraqi immigrants same benefits as refugees
