PathWays PA Policy Blog

On July 10, the PA Supreme Court made a unanimous ruling that Pennsylvania must reinstate the General Assistance (GA) program. GA provides cash assistance for very low-income Pennsylvanians. To qualify, recipients must: have a temporary or permanent disability be a minor child who is not living with a relative be caring for an unrelated child under the age of 12 be caring for someone ill or disabled be victims of domestic violence (limited to nine months in a lifetime) be in a drug or alcohol treatment program that prevents them from working (limited to nine months in a lifetime) The maximum amount of Cash Assistance for people with no other income is $205/month for one person or $316/month for two people. Download a flyer from CLS and learn more here .

PathWays PA Newsletter   JOIN OUR MAILING LIST JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY IN THIS NEWSLETTER Release of the 2012-2013 Standard LIHEAP Application Online Human Trafficking Bill Sent to Governor Shared-Work Program comes to PA FREE Business Workshop Lost GA-PA Cares for ALL SURVEY SIGN-UP Human Trafficking Webinar LITERACY COALITION EVENT JOIN PATHWAYS PA TO CELEBRATE OUR 34TH ANNIVERSARY!. ADULT EDUCATION CLASSES IN THE NEWS October 11, 2012 - PathWaysPA releases 2012-2012 Self-Sufficiency Report "Overlooked and Undercounted"   October 17, 2012 Study: 1 in 4 Pennsylvania households struggle to make ends meet  Read More    October 18, 2012 25 percent of Pa. households below poverty standard Read More   PURCHASE ITEMS FROM THE PATHWAYS PA ART SHOW These items and more are available for sale, with all proceeds benefiting PathWays PA! For more information and to make your purchase, visit...

Here are some documents that may help those looking to learn more about GA. Client education materials on General Assistance (English) Click Here Client education materials on General Assistance (Spanish) Click Here Letter from Philadelphia Public Housing Authority to GA recipients in public housing on how to reduce their rent Click Here Additional documents can also be found on at: Philadelphia Community Legal Services

From our friends at the Pennsylvania Health Law Project : If you lost your General Assistance cash benefit on August 1, 2012, you can still get medical care. Your Medical Assistance will not change, even though your cash assistance is ending. Please download this flyer for more information.

Federal Policy Updates  A JOB SHOULD LIFT YOU OUT OF POVERTY, NOT TRAP YOU IN IT Women who earn minimum wage are struggling to make ends meet. The current minimum wage at $7.25 an hour can not support our families. If you support raising the minimum wage sign this petition today . What would raising the federal minimum wage do? Rebuild our economy. For every $1 added to the minimum wage, low-wage worker households spend an additional $2,800 the following year. Ensure a better future for our children. 21.5 million children have a parent who would benefit from a minimum wage increase.  Increase jobs. Increasing the minimum wage would boost consumer spending, which drives 70% of our economy.  Sign this petition today because we deserve the opportunity to work hard and earn enough to support our families! For more information on the benefits of increasing the minimum wage please check out the National Women's Law Center fact sheet . From our friends at 9t...

Federal Policy Updates  HOUSE RELEASES DRAFT OF LABOR-HHS APPROPRIATIONS BILL Last week, the House Appropriations Committee released a draft of the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations. The bill passed out of the subcommittee by a vote of 8 to 6. Overall the bill cuts more than $6 billion in discretionary funding from current levels. The majority of programs are flat-funded at current levels, but there are some notable increases and decreases. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) is cut by $194 million  The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is funded $111 million below last year’s level.  Head Start and child care do receive modest funding increases of $46 million and $25 million respectively, although these increases are lower than they both receive under the Senate bill .  The bill again de-funds many of the programs integral to the President’s health care reform law, which would make impl...