Important Public Service Announcement re: RI Works Hardship Extentions
June 17, 2009
As you may know, 2,700 families received a notice last week that their RI Works cash assistance benefits will close at the end of the month because of shorter time limits for receiving cash benefits. Families can request a "Hardship Extension" to their cash benefits for 3 months (renewable).
You can help ensure that families know about and apply for this extension by posting and distributing an informational flyer.
On our website: www.ServeRhodeIsland.org are the informational flyers in English and Spanish for you to post at your agency and copy to distribute to your clients and in your neighborhood. Click on the "PSAs" tab and the "RI Works..." article to download the PDFs that are underlined in the text.
The Poverty Institute and others are still working for a legislative solution, urging policy makers to postpone the time limits for 12 months. In the meantime, we urge you to help parents apply for the Extension, keep a copy of the application and monitor the outcome. Please forward this email to any of your colleagues that work with families on RI Works.
If you have questions, please feel free to call Heidi Collins (456-2751) or Linda Katz (456-4634).