Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

California Gets Rid of Cap on Family Aid

Los Angeles Times (June 16, 2106): Good riddance to a repugnant California cap on family aid, by Times Editorial Board:

As part of a budget deal struck by California legislators, California will end the "maximum family grant" rule,  a cap on family aid designed to discourage poor women from having babies while on welfare.  Although typically the amount of aid welfare recipients receive is based upon the number of children in a family, the maximum family grant rule prohibited any increase to aid based upon a birth that occurred to a family that was already receiving benefits.

It was a repugnant policy and, furthermore, it didn’t seem to work. Studies have found little evidence of a link between caps in benefits and reproduction. What we do know, however, is that the maximum family grant rule punished poor kids for the choices of their parents.

Twenty-two states adopted family caps in the 1990s.  California is the seventh state to repeal the cap. According to ThinkProgress, 12 states give families no extra money for additional children while enrolled in welfare. Two other states give a flat amount of money no matter the number of children in the family, and tow states reduced benefits for additional children.  Check out ThinkProgress for a map and listing of states that still have maximum family caps. 

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Welcome to the Reproductive Rights Prof Blog, a member of the Law Professor Blogs network.  This blog aims to provide resources, news, and information of particular interest to law school professors who teach and write in the area of reproductive rights.  While there are several other blogs that focus on reproductive rights generally, or some specific aspect of this broader topic, this blog is unique in its legal and academic focus.  It will feature news that is likely to be of particular interest to academics and litigators.  Of course, it will also provide announcements of conferences and abstracts of recent scholarship on reproductive rights topics.  The permanent resources are selected with a view to what is likely to be particularly helpful to those researching reproductive rights for scholarly purposes.  I welcome comments and suggestions on how to make this blog more useful.  Please also send me content for posting.

Caitlin E. Borgmann