- Ice bucket challenge inspiration Pete Frates dies at 34
- Philly School District, Drexel break ground on $40M elementary and middle school
- Led by 'Marriage Story,' Netflix dominates Golden Globe noms
- House Democrats lay out case for formal Trump impeachment
- Frank Rizzo statue in Center City vandalized again
- Good start to no-questions-asked illegal gun surrender program, advocates say
- At Morris Arboretum, a unique holiday display for families to enjoy
- World Anti-Doping Agency imposes 4-year ban on Russia
- Veteran priest previously exonerated in child abuse case now removed from active ministry
- Up to 13 feared dead in volcanic eruption off New Zealand
- ‘I can’t just wallow in terror’: Students rally again against climate change
- Robots, drones, high-tech games show STEM career path to Camden students
- With closure of 15th Street bridge, traffic is already piling up
- National Constitution Center untangles impeachment process with public event
- 4-legged faculty member lends a helping ‘paw’ to students with learning challenges
- From hats to false teeth: The things riders leave behind on SEPTA
- At Lincoln Financial Field, 2 NJ high schools finish football game stopped by gunfire
- Delco family's nightmare ends after getting the support needed to stay in their home
- Coat drive 'an answer to many people's prayers' in North Philadelphia
- Marine Corps anniversary celebrated with endurance challenge
Upcoming Events
New Jersey increases payments to welfare recipients
1001gece / iStock / Getty Images Plus
TRENTON, NJ (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey is increasing monthly cash payments to some of the state’s poorest residents.
This is the second consecutive year the Murphy Administration has increased the stipend paid under General Assistance and the smaller WorkFirst NJ programs, affecting some 37,000 people statewide.
“Last year there was a 10% increase in the number, and then this year, working with the legislature, the number went up 20%,” Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson told KYW Newsradio.
Maximum individual payments for General Assistance are now at $185 a month, up $31 while a family of three in the WorkFirst program saw their benefit go from $466 to $559 a month.
Johnson also notes that the number of people in that WorkFirst program has dropped by about 20% to just under 11,000.
"Across the nation we have seen some trending down in these programs as unemployment has gotten lower,” she added. “It’s created some opportunities for people to into the work force.”
But there are apprentice and training opportunities for others, just in case the economy takes a downward turn.