Two policy ideas that many of us would regard as inhumane:
The first: a restrictive policy on access to emergency shelter for homeless families with kids, under which many families must first prove that they have slept in a place not meant for human habitation, like a hospital emergency room, a train station or a car in order to be granted shelter.
The second: a proposal to count federal disability payments as income in deciding eligibility for cash welfare grants. This proposal would, for example, take away a $400 monthly welfare grant to a grandmother and her 13-year-old granddaughter who cannot walk or talk because of cerebral palsy because the granddaughter receives $750 per month in federal disability payments.
The first of these is currently our state’s policy. The second is not. It has been stopped — twice — by the Legislature, which may stop it again this year. You might not be surprised to learn that Governor Baker supports both ideas, but you might be surprised to learn that Governor Patrick did too — in fact, his administration originated them.
