Hawaii tries to stretch general assistance to poor and disabled people by cutting payments in half

From the Honolulu Advertiser:

The state plans to cut monthly general assistance payments to the poor and temporarily disabled by half or else the program may run out of money before the end of the fiscal year in June.

The state Department of Human Services will slice the monthly payments from $469 to $234 per person from April through June. The full payments will be restored when the new fiscal year starts in July, but the Lingle administration, looking to close the state's budget deficit, has called for a lifetime limit of one year.

The general assistance program serves about 5,150 of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the state. The monthly cash payments, which can be used for staples such as food, clothing and housing, are intended for people who have little or no income and are unable to work because of a temporary disability.

"There have been reductions before. This is actually a slighter and shorter duration reduction than what we thought we were going to have to do," said Lillian Koller, the director of the state Department of Human Services.

According to the department, the state Legislature provides about $31 million for both general assistance and aid to the aged, blind and disabled through a block grant. The monthly payments under general assistance were increased in the current two-year budget but the overall block grant did not change. So as the caseload grew because of the falling economy, money in the program evaporated.

Koller said another factor is many people are staying on general assistance longer because of delays in getting federal recognition of a permanent disability to qualify for Social Security benefits.

"We think, from a policy point of view, it's better to have folks receive a reduced amount and have some reasonable amount of money," she said.

One bright spot, Koller said, is that people on both general assistance and the federal food stamp program should expect an increase in food stamp payments in April because of the federal economic stimulus package approved by Congress and President Obama. People on general assistance who are in public housing will also likely see their rent reduced because their income will have declined.

Advocates for the poor, while recognizing the state's budget shortfall, are criticizing the Lingle administration and state lawmakers for the cut.

The Welfare and Employment Rights Coalition plans a news conference tomorrow morning to urge lawmakers to take money from the state's rainy-day fund to maintain general assistance payments during the fiscal year.

In a statement, the coalition said "the governor and Legislature are balancing the state's budget on the backs of those least able to stand up for themselves, including the temporarily disabled."

"It is absolutely impossible for a human being to live in Hawai'i on a cash budget of $234 per month," Joel Fischer, a professor at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa School of Social Work, said in the statement. "Let the governor and the legislators try to live on that amount for even a week to see what really will happen to these thousands of disabled community members."

Lawmakers who oversee human services are sympathetic to the advocates but agree with the state that the cut is the best alternative. Half payments, they argue, are better than no payments. In addition, if there is still money in the program left over at the end of the fiscal year, it would be divided equally among people on general assistance.

"We were faced with cutting it in half — at least they'll have something through June — or keeping it at the $469 per month and then ending it early," said state Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-13th (Kalihi, Nu'uanu), the chairwoman of the Senate Human Services Committee. "It's a bad situation. We don't want to go this route."

Since general assistance is not an entitlement program where people have a legal right to the payments, the caseload must be contained by the amount of money provided by the Legislature.

The monthly payments are capped at $469 but can be adjusted downward if the caseload grows too large.

The Lingle administration could ask lawmakers for an emergency appropriation, but the state is struggling to close a deficit for this fiscal year and has already tapped much of the rainy-day fund.

"It's a tough pill to swallow during these most difficult times," said state Rep. John Mizuno, D-30th (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley, Fort Shafter), the chairman of the House Human Services Committee.