“Mike Herald, director of policy advocacy for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said CalWORKs was originally based in the belief that if the government didn’t force people to work, they wouldn’t know “what was good for them.” The program has been reformed over the years, Herald said, but tens of thousands of families are still sanctioned from the system due to the work requirement.”
Will California sidestep federal ‘work first’ welfare rules?
“States usually only meet the federal rates through “gimmicks,” said Michael Herald, director of policy advocacy for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Some were able to lower their targets by reducing their welfare rolls. California boosted its rate by giving many working food assistance recipients an additional $10 a month out of its welfare funds.”
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Column: California must stop taking away child support from kids and families
“We have this big, elaborate child support system that doesn’t give the money to the kids,” says Michael Herald, policy director for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “They forgot the word ‘child.’
“Ask the public, ‘Where do you think the money goes when the government collects child support?’ ‘It goes to kids.’ No. It doesn’t.”
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New Jersey, Birthplace of Welfare Family Caps, Has Finally Repealed Them
“It’s a “terribly racist and classist and misogynistic policy,” said Jessica Bartholow, policy advocate at the Western Center on Law & Poverty. “It’s a poor baby penalty.”
New Jersey, Birthplace of Welfare Family Caps, Has Finally Repealed Them
