Great news! Three big changes are coming to the SSI program on September 30, 2024. These changes will help thousands of people get more SSI benefits. Previously, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reduced SSI benefits for people who received help from friends, family, or others in certain situations. This is called In-Kind Support and Maintenance…
The policies of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to collect overpayments currently create serious hardship for people struggling to afford the basic necessities. There is extensive latitude within the Social Security Act for SSA to do a better job at waiving overpayments or making repayment less onerous for people with modest incomes, for the vast…
Extra SNAP benefits will be ending in February 2023!Extra SNAP, or emergency allotments (EAs) will be ending after February 2023. Click here to find out what you can do to keep receiving the maximum SNAP you are eligible for. SNAP Emergency Allotments are Now Available to ALL Pennsylvania Recipients in January! What you need to…
Starting October 2022, Pennsylvania has increased the income limit to qualify for SNAP (food stamps). If you were denied before, you might qualify now! Please see the chart at right for the new income limits by household size. If your monthly income is below these limits, you may qualify for SNAP. If your household…
Today, advocates from New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), the Urban Justice Center (UJC), and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS) released a new report about wasteful and harmful Social Security policies, which discriminate against adults and children with disabilities. The report focuses on issues arising in New York State and Pennsylvania, but this is…
Parents Describe TANF’s Strengths and Needed Changes in New Report on 25th Anniversary of “Welfare Reform” A new report on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), featuring the voices of parents receiving cash assistance, finds that TANF is crucial for supporting the lowest income families in Pennsylvania, but needs a grant increase and other…
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federally-funded block grant that provides cash assistance to the poorest Pennsylvania families. Parents are required to actively look for work or participate in a job training program. TANF additionally provides support for children under 18 being cared for by grandparents or other relatives, and for survivors of…
SSI for children is crucial support for families in need. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides critical financial support to people with disabilities who experience economic hardship, including 1.1 million children. SSI income is crucial not only because it can boost families out of poverty, but also because in many states, SSI recipients are automatically eligible…
Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS), one of the largest and most respected legal services programs in the nation, congratulates President-Elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their successful election. As President-Elect Biden said in a recent speech: “We must make the promise of the country real for everybody — no matter their…
Great news! CLS and Morgan Lewis settled with the USDA, bringing $712 million emergency SNAP (food stamp) benefits to approximately 650,000 of the neediest Pennsylvania households! Click here to find out more. A federal court issued a preliminary injunction today, ruling that more than 700,000 of the poorest Pennsylvanians may be entitled to receive additional…
