http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/01/25/romney_calls_for_14000_on_welfare_to_work/ Romney calls for 14,000 on welfare to work
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff | January 25, 2005
Pregnant women in their third trimester, mothers with children older than 1, and about 5,600 disabled people are among the additional 14,000 welfare recipients who would have to work under welfare changes Governor Mitt Romney will propose later this week.
Overall, Romney's plan would more than double the number of welfare recipients who have to work, from roughly 12,700 to about 26,700. A total of 49,000 recipients are currently on the state's welfare rolls. The governor's proposal would also ratchet up the hours per week that some recipients must work, and would establish a five-year lifetime limit for receiving benefits.
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The Romney plan, which is stricter than the recommendations of an advisory panel given in November, is likely to enhance the conservative bona fides of the Republican governor, who is widely thought to be contemplating a run for the White House. But some advocates and Democrats in the Legislature decried the governor's proposal as unduly harsh and unnecessary.<snip>
Like the federal law, the Bay State's law includes time limits and work requirements: Recipients who are not exempt are limited to 24 months of assistance in any five-year period and must work between 20 hours and 30 hours a week, depending on the age of their youngest child.
When the Massachusetts welfare overhaul was signed into law in February 1995, there were approximately 103,000 recipients receiving $693 million per year in cash assistance. Today's 49,000 recipients receive about $313 million per year, while another $54 million has been funneled into child care for them.<snip>