Senator DiDomenico addresses the crowd at Caps & Mittens Day, urging action on legislation

to lift the Cap on Kids.

Senator DiDomenico joins Irene Cardillo of the Grace Food Pantry of Everett, who brought a large donation of winter coats, hats, and mittens to the Cap & Mittens event.

BOSTON – Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett), Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge), and members of the Campaign to Lift the Cap on Kids recently held Caps and Mittens Day at the State House as part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness about the need to Lift the Cap on Kids in Massachusetts. Senator DiDomenico and Representative Decker are the respective Senate and House sponsors of 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 – the family began receiving benefits. As a result of the Cap on Kids, Massachusetts does not provide benefits for 8,900 children living in deep poverty. Their parents struggle to provide even the most basic essentials for their children, including keeping their babies safe and healthy. With winter approaching, the need for winter coats, hats, and gloves is an additional cost that is often out of reach for low-income families.

“The Cap on Kids is hurting families, and it’s time we put an end to this ineffective policy,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means. “We should be doing everything we can to help families provide their children with the things they need. Low-income families face difficult decisions every day. Making sure they have winter hats and mittens to keep them warm should not be one of them.”

“We have the opportunity to reverse a policy that excludes children from state assistance they need and qualify for, with the exception of children who happen to be born after their parents received badly needed support from the state,” said Representative Marjorie Decker. “Parents don’t choose which child to feed, keep warm with hats or mittens, or diaper. This law is hurting families that meet all of our standards of being desperately in need. If we understand their reality then we will move forward to reversing this harmful law.  I have confidence that we are have a lot of growing support from all over the Commonwealth and in the Legislature.”

The Campaign to Lift the Cap on Kids has been collecting winter hats and mittens for the event to demonstrate this harsh policy’s impact on low income children and families.  All of the donated hats and mittens will go to Cradles to Crayons and the Home for Little Wanderers, who will distribute them to families in need.

“We are grateful for the continued leadership of Representative Decker and Senator DiDomenico as we work to Lift the Cap on Kids in Massachusetts. It’s time we stop hurting families and give them the resources they need to thrive,” said Deborah Harris of Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a lead member organization of the Campaign to Lift the Cap on Kids. 

“Lifting the Cap on Kids would make a huge difference in the lives of so many families,” said Naomi Meyer, Greater Boston Legal Services, on behalf of the Campaign to Lift the Cap on Kids. “Every day, we see families struggling to provide basic essentials for their children, and it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“The cap on kids hurts the most vulnerable members of our commonwealth, young kids born to extremely low income parents. It’s an antiquated policy that has no place in Massachusetts today, when so many families across our state are struggling simply to meet their most basic needs,” said  Rebekah Gewirtz, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers – MA Chapter. “We should focus our efforts on fighting poverty, not the poor.”

Massachusetts is one of only 17 states - including Arkansas, Mississippi, and North Carolina – that still has a Cap on Kids. An Act to lift the cap on kids was recently given a favorable report by the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities and is currently pending before the Senate Committee on Ways & Means.

###

Legislation Funds Workplace Competitiveness Trust Fund and renames grants after Senator Donnelly

BOSTON- Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico joined his Senate colleagues in unanimously voting to engross An Act to Diversify the Use of the Workforce Training Fund to Support the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund. The legislation, originally filed by the late Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly, and since championed by his successor Senator Cindy Friedman, will ensure a sustainable, predictable source of annual funding for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund (WCTF). 

The WCTF provides high impact job training grants designed to support unemployed and under-employed workers while helping employers across the Commonwealth hire the skilled workers they need to grow. Furthermore, grants issued from the fund are to be re-named the Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success Grants.

“Senator Ken Donnelly was a great friend and a true champion for the working men and women of the Commonwealth, and renaming the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund after him is a fitting tribute to his legacy as a strong advocate for economic opportunity,” said Senator DiDomenico. “I am very proud to support this critical piece of legislation that will strengthen the Commonwealth’s workforce development system and help to put more people on a path to economic stability.”

This bill would allow up to 5% of the state’s Workforce Training Fund, an approximately $22M annual fund supported by employer contributions for incumbent worker training, to be used for the WCTF, a proven sector-based training model that has served hundreds of employers with qualified, skilled employees.

The WCTF was created by the economic stimulus act of 2006 and administered by Commonwealth Corporation on behalf of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The WCTF funds regional sector training partnerships across the state with the goal of placing unemployed and underemployed workers in jobs that are in demand. Grants from the fund bring together employers in a particular sector, workforce investment boards, career centers, vocational technical schools, community colleges, and workforce training providers. 

The bill also ensures that WCTF grants are performance-based, with 50% paid upon enrollment in the program and the remaining 50% to be paid contingent on job placement and retention outcomes.

A broad coalition of stakeholders has advocated for this legislation, including the business community, workforce boards, labor unions, job training providers, and advocates for low-income workers and their families.

Senator Kenneth J. Donnelly served for 37 years as a firefighter and for 8 years as a state senator. He was a staunch believer in the role of unions and government to protect workers, and he was well known for his efforts to advance justice and equality for all people no matter their race, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. During his time in the Senate he advocated fiercely for funding for workforce training for unemployed and underemployed workers.  

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

###

BOSTON- Senator Sal DiDomenico recently received the 2017 Public Official award from VinFen Family Advisory Council, a leading provider of community-based services to people with psychiatric conditions, intellectual and developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and behavioral health challenges. The Senator received this award during VinFen’s annual dinner in Norwood, surrounded by hundreds of families, direct care workers, and community leaders.

“I would like to sincerely thank VinFen for presenting me with this award,” said Senator DiDomenico. “It was an honor to be recognized by such a distinguished organization that has been dedicated to positively transforming lives for over 40 years. I am proud to support their mission through our work in the Massachusetts Senate.”

The award was presented to Senator DiDomenico for his recognition of the human and civil rights of constituents with intellectual, psychiatric and other disabilities, promotion of legislation that reinforces and respects those rights, and his support Vinfen's mission to help transform lives together.

###