DiDomenico’s Bill to Lift the Cap on Kids Becomes Law
BOSTON— Last week, the Massachusetts Legislature took the final steps needed to end the state’s family cap policy by overwhelmingly voting to reject a Governor veto and enact Senator Sal DiDomenico’s legislation to lift the Cap on Kids.
The Cap on Kids– also called the “family cap”– denies benefits to children conceived while, or soon after, a family began receiving benefits. As a result of the Cap on Kids, Massachusetts does not provide benefits for nearly 9,000 children living in poverty. Their parents struggle to provide even the most basic essentials for their children, causing everyone in the family to suffer.
“Lifting the ‘Cap on Kids’ is simply the right thing to do to ensure that families are not denied basic benefits simply because of when their children were born,” said Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico. “I have heard many personal accounts from families who have been hurt by this cap on kids— parents who struggle to meet their families’ basic needs because of this policy. Today, I am proud to say that we have put an end to this ineffective and unjust policy and show that we value all children equally, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.”
This was the sixth time the Massachusetts Senate took bipartisan action to pass DiDomenico’s policy proposal. This session, legislation to lift the Cap on Kids was a top priority for the Massachusetts Senate, with the Senate passing DiDomenico’s bill in March and also including the family cap repeal in its FY19 supplemental budget. In his remarks on the Senate floor, DiDomenico thanked his colleagues for their support and expressed his gratitude to Senate President Karen Spilka for her ongoing commitment to repeal the Cap on Kids: “This is a critical policy change that will help thousands of children across theCommonwealth, and I would like to especially thank Senate President Spilka for continuing to make this a Senate priority and addressing this issue at the very beginning of our session.”
Massachusetts’ ‘Cap on Kids’ policy was established in 1995 and has been detrimental to families across the state. Since filing this legislation, Senator DiDomenico has passionately disputed certain erroneous assumptions about our Commonwealth’s low-income families: “The facts are crystal clear - this policy hurts our children which is why so many states have already taken action to repeal their family cappolicies. For over two decades, the Cap on Kids has done nothing but move us backward and make it harder for low income families to meet their basic needs, such as food, housing, and warm clothes.”
The new policy begins on September 1, 2019. The repeal of the family cap is also retroactive to January 1, 2019. Upon implementation, children who are, or would be, excluded from grant calculations will now be included. The fiscal year 2019 budget already provides funding for this change, which was included in the House and Senate conference committee report.
Legislators and advocates celebrate Lifting the Cap on Kids
DiDomenico and his legislative staff
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