State General Assistance (GA) programs, which provide a safety net of last resort for those who are very poor and do not qualify for other public assistance, have weakened considerably in recent decades and are continuing to do so, despite ongoing need for aid in the wake of the recession. The number of states with General Assistance programs has fallen from 38 to 26 since 1989, and benefits have shrunk in inflation-adjusted terms in nearly every state since 1998.
The 26 states with GA programs generally serve very poor individuals who do not have minor children, are not disabled enough to qualify for (or do not yet receive) Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and are not elderly.[1] Only 11 of the 26 states provide any benefits to childless adults who do not have some disability; the others require recipients to be unemployable, generally due to a physical or mental condition. (See Figure 1.)
There is no federally supported cash safety net program for poor childless adults who do not receive SSI; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) only serves families with minor children. Thus, state or local GA programs are generally the only cash assistance for which such individuals can qualify. Some are uniform statewide programs; others have mandatory state guidelines but allow county programs to adopt varying eligibility standards. (See Appendices II and III for greater detail.)