Members of panel back raising grants for needy families

CARSON CITY -- A majority of Assembly members on a joint budget subcommittee voted Thursday to raise the cash grant provided to needy families by 15 percent, the first increase proposed for the program since 1993.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said the reserve in the program, now called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, is large enough at $29 million to pay for the increase.

A family of three, typically a parent with two children, now receives $348 a month. The raise would equate to $52.20 more a month and increase the grant to just over $400 a month.

The grant amounts vary for families in subsidized housing and for those with larger households.

The 15 percent raise, which would cost $1.53 million in fiscal year 2007-2008, and $1.77 million in fiscal year 2008-2009, passed the Assembly side of the joint Assembly-Senate budget subcommittee, with two members voting no.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said the Senate members of the subcommittee would vote later because one member, Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, was not present.

The reserve has built up since it was depleted after the increase in caseloads following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

While another such event could again deplete the reserve, Leslie said, it is impossible to predict the future.

"But I think these families deserve a raise. This is not the old welfare days. There are not people on welfare forever."

There is a five-year limit on receiving the cash grant, Leslie said. Those who receive the grant can also receive Medicaid, food stamps and some other benefits.

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, agreed with the hike, saying even with a 15 percent increase, the cash grant is not nearly enough for a family to find housing and pay for other expenses.

Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said the parents receiving the assistance are expected to look for work. With the cost of child care and housing, the grant needs to be increased, she said.

"I cannot imagine anybody who could live on that amount," Titus said.

Leslie also noted the caseloads for the program have been dropping.