Senate committee OKs N.J. welfare grant hike

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Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) sponsored two bills improving the welfare program that cleared a committee Thursday. (Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

(Andre Malok/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

TRENTON -- New Jersey's welfare recipients would collect a larger monthly assistance grant, and would no longer be financially penalized for having additional children under two bills a Senate committee approved Thursday.

The Senate Budget and Appropriation Committee approved the two bills as part of the Democrats' emphasis on poverty, which grew to unprecedented heights following the recession.

One bill (A30), calls for raising the monthly welfare grant for the first time in 29 years. A family of three, for example which today receives $424 a month would get $466 in 2017, $509 in 2018 and $551 in 2019.

This would cost the state $14.2 million in the coming fiscal year and $27.1 million and $38.6 million in the two subsequent years, according to the bill's fiscal analysis by the Office of Legislative Services.

Cost of living increases would accrue after the third year, according to the bill (A30).

"While living expenses rise every year, families with dependent children receiving cash assistance through the Work First New Jersey program have seen no adjustment to their benefit amount to reflect the increased costs," said Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic), a sponsor.

The $424 welfare grant set in 1987 is worth $200.50 in today's economy, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The second bill would repeal what is known as the "family cap" on cash assistance for women who become pregnant while on welfare. New Jersey is one of 19 states that does not expand the size of the welfare grant when a baby is born. The welfare grant is based on family size.

"Prohibiting additional assistance because a woman had a child is essentially punishing the children because it denies them of having their basic needs met and destroys the chances of growing up healthy and finding future success,"  Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), a sponsor of the bill (S1854).

Since the family cap took effect in 1992, 20,000 children have been born to families on welfare, according to a New Jersey Policy Perspective report.

If the bill were to be signed into law, it would cost the state an additional $2.3 million a year, according to a fiscal analysis by the Office of Legislative Services.

Both bills now move on to the Senate.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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