Hi John,

When families face economic hardship, they should not go without the basics: food, shelter, or medical essentials.

During the Great Recession a decade ago, the Washington legislature enacted several punitive policy changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in order to reduce the caseload, and by extension, costs to the state’s budget. While roughly the same number of families in Washington state are living in deep poverty (defined as 50% of the Federal Poverty Level) today as were prior to the Great Recession, the TANF caseload is now less than half of what it was before the 2011 cuts.

“In some of my darkest hours as a parent, I lost the only source of income and support that my family had. I always thought that TANF was supposed to be there when families had hard times, but in my situation, TANF was taken away from me when my family needed it most. All because I was more focused on caring for my mental health and my son’s health and safety than on meeting the demands of TANF. It made an already terrible situation traumatizing.” -Parent and TANF/WorkFirst participant from Kent, WA

Senate Bill 5214, sponsored by Senator Nguyen, makes much-needed restorations and improvements to the TANF program including:  

• broader hardship exemptions to time limits, eliminating a source of racial disparity and allowing TANF parents who are “playing by the rules,” but still experiencing hardship to access this source of support;
• eliminating the full family sanction, preventing children from losing their sole source of financial support if their parents – like the parent quoted above – have a hard time meeting TANF’s many requirements;
• allowing orientation to be done over the phone (as is allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic); and
• increasing the income set-aside so that families do not have to worry about losing their TANF grant when they make an incremental increase to their income.

THIS TUESDAY, January 26, at 1:30pm, SB 5214 has a hearing in the Senate Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee.

Your lawmakers need to hear from you! It’s time to tell our legislators that families around the state should be able to meet their basic needs.

With this first-ever online legislative session, there are several key ways to take action!

1. If your family receives TANF, or has in the past, and you wish to give live testimony about your experience, please contact Lianna Kressin at [email protected].
2. Submit public comment during the hearing. Click here for instructions on how to submit public comment and note your position for the record.
3. Email your legislators and urge them to support and pass SB 5214 and bolster TANF as a critical lifeline.

This week, Poverty Action held its 16^th Annual (and first virtual) MLK Lobby Day.

Over 120 people across Washington state tuned into our virtual Lobby Day on Monday January 18 to hear from experienced anti-poverty advocates and review Poverty Action’s 2021 legislative priorities. In the afternoon, attendees met with their lawmakers to share their vision for racial and economic justice and what steps lawmakers can take to get there during the 2021 Legislative Session.

View the Zoom recording of the Lobby Day morning program here.

Our advocacy does not stop after Lobby Day!

This week, we challenge you to advocate on social media by posting a short, 30-60 second video with a message to your lawmaker about any of our six campaigns. Post 3 videos and tag Poverty Action (or send to [email protected]) by Sunday January 24 to be entered into a raffle!

Although the 2021 Legislative Session is virtual, there are still many opportunities to advocate for a more resilient and just Washington. Schedule a meeting with your lawmaker, submit public comment during bill hearings, and post to social media. Review Poverty Action’s guide to participating in a remote session here.

Keep an eye out for our Network News in your inbox throughout the session for more opportunities to take action.