Welfare Rent Subsidies in Jeopardy

Jack Lightfoot says the monthly check someone on welfare, known as TANF, gets really doesn’t go very far.

Lightfoot, a lobbyist for Child and Family Services, participated in a state Taskforce that looked at whether a monthly welfare check is adequate.

TAPE: the maximum TANF grant, for a family of three, mom and two kids is about $625 a month. With data from the NH Housing Finance Authority we found out that basically there are fewer than 10% of the apartments in the entire state that that mother could rent if she used her entire TANF check just to pay for rent.

Lightfoot says the Taskforce felt the TANF families who live that close to the edge aren’t being put in a position to succeed.

TAPE: we thought that was very dangerous for the children, because it left them always in jeopardy of losing their housing. We thought it was very dangerous for the state because we thought a mother who doesn’t have stable housing is not going to be able to find, as easily, a stable job. Because if you don’t have a place to live, it’s just hard to keep everything else together.

Due to cost of living increases TANF grant purchasing power has decreased 24% over the past 20 years.

In response to the taskforce findings, Governor Lynch earmarked up to $3.3 million dollars in his budget proposal to help some of the poorest TANF families cover rent.

A bill to give the state Department of Health and Human Services the ability to install the program- if money was available- passed the House earlier this year.

TAPE: folks on TANF need a greater subsidy to afford the rents.

That’s Concord Representative John DeJoie.

DeJoie sits on the House Finance Committee which this week adopted a measure to pull the plug on the rent voucher plan.

TAPE: the problem is that there are a number of unfunded programs and it came down to priorities.

DeJoie says the Finance Committee made the move because it wanted to preserve other crucial programs.

He says the alternative- not providing those programs with adequate funding- wasn’t acceptable.

TAPE: there would be no lead paint inspection, the food inspection...we wouldn’t be able to inspect for food safety.

Going forward, the name of the game is priorities.

In its budget process, the state Senate will face tough choices.

Like which social service programs are the most essential, which are the most effective, what are the consequences of cutting others.

Terry Smith, who heads up the state’s TANF program, says the whole question of what to fund- rental subsidies or lead paint inspection programs may be a luxury.

TAPE: all of these planned expenditures are going to decrease the TANF Reserve to the point where we may not have enough money to pay all these expenses.

Given that welfare rolls have increased in each of the past ten months, there’s a good chance either more money will be needed, or lawmakers will need to set different priorities.