From WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR Station
While more Pennsylvanians are seeking help from public assistance programs such as food stamps and Medicaid due to the coronavirus pandemic, that’s not the case for the state’s welfare program – enrollment has actually fallen by more than 15,000 people since last March.
Why are fewer people getting welfare in this time of high unemployment, expanding enrollment in other safety net programs, and increasing hunger?
Advocates and officials say it is likely because the program – which has not increased the amount of money it gives to families since the 1990s, roughly $400 monthly for a family of three – provides too little cash and requires too many hurdles to be of much use to poor families. Read the whole story here:
