D.C. Council Votes 10-3 to Delay TANF Cuts!

In giving final approval to the FY 2013 Budget Support Act today, the D.C. Council voted to delay additional cuts in TANF for a year. Councilmembers Jim Graham and Michael Brown introduced the amendment with the one-year delay language, and all but three Councilmembers voted in favor of the amendment. (Councilmembers Alexander,Catania, and Mendelson voted against the delay).

In passing this amendment, councilmembers recognized that the District government had failed TANF families by not doing proper assessments and not having appropriate work supports in place. Councilmembers said that penalizing families for the District’s failures was simply unfair.

The one-year delay will allow for improvements in the TANF re-design to take hold and for families to be properly assessed under the re-design. We’re grateful to the D.C. Council for hearing the pleas of families like Ms. K’s and for voting to give kids a fighting chance!

About Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless envisions a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia, where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources they need to thrive. Our mission is to use the law to make justice a reality for our neighbors who struggle with homelessness and poverty. Combining community lawyering and advocacy to achieve our clients’ goals, our expert staff and network of volunteer attorneys provide low barrier, comprehensive legal services at intake sites throughout the District of Columbia, helping our clients to access housing, shelter, and life-saving services. Rooted in the experiences of this client work, we effectively blend system reform efforts, policy advocacy, community education and client engagement to advocate for long term improvements in local and federal programs that serve the low- and no-income community.

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