Activists push for removing asset limits on welfare programs, which top administrator says has no

[TexasTowelie]

Activists push for removing asset limits on welfare programs, which top administrator says has no non-political purpose

The head of the state’s welfare division had a simple answer recently when she was asked if there was any reason, outside of politics, people with low incomes but with more than $6,000 in assets are barred from applying.

“None,” she said.

Her answer, which came at a meeting of the Nevada Task Force on Financial Security last month, underscored what activists call a flaw in how the state provides assistance to those most in need of a financial leg up.

Every year, Nevada routinely rejects a handful of applicants for the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program because they have assets — a car, a savings account or other reportable property — worth in excess of $6,000, even if they meet the program’s requirement of income levels below the federal poverty line. The state spends $76 million annually on the program, largely through a $44 million federal block grant, and typically serves around 25,000 people at any given time.

Although Nevada’s overall TANF rejection rate is relatively high (roughly 62 percent of the monthly 3,600 applications submitted in 2016), rejections based on assets consisted of a small percentage — only 20 in all of 2016.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/activists-push-for-removing-asset-limits-on-welfare-programs-which-top-administrator-says-has-no-non-political-purpose