It is very difficult to quantify the number of Jews dependent on welfare, whether they are immigrants or native born.
A 1994 survey of 12 communities done for the UJA-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York shows a high level of reliance by newcomers on public assistance.
Federal guidelines say 60 percent of beneficiaries of refugee programs should be economically self-sufficient four months after their arrival, when initial resettlement grants expire.
But the survey of about 25,000 cases found that on average, only 10 percent were self-sufficient by that time. The numbers range from a high of 94 percent in Denver to 4 percent in New York City. After 7 months, it ranged from 100 percent in Denver to 5 percent in New York City.
The survey suggests a possible link between higher levels of self-sufficiency and less availability of state-run general assistance. It also suggests that the larger a particular community’s resettlement program, the lower the rate of self-sufficiency.
Refugees are now eligible for four additional months of federal cash assistance, after which the only assistance available to them is Aid to Families With Dependent Children, for which few qualify, or general assistance.
While no definitive data were available on those refugees who continue to rely on public assistance after the eight-month period, survey responses from communities with a “significant” general assistance program suggest “that the proportion is quite high and that welfare dependency can last for significant periods of time.”
Indeed, the numbers of Jewish poor overall are not insubstantial, said William Rapfogel, director of the Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty.
In New York City alone, the 1990 census showed 145,000 Jews at or near the poverty level, and that was before more than 200,000 additional refugees arrived from the former Soviet Union, he said.
A large segment of these are long-term “working poor” families, while some are “newly poor” as a result of recession-induced downsizing.
Many are receiving government assistance, including food stamps and Medicaid, which will be much harder to obtain under the new law, causing serious hardship, said Rapfogel.
“People today fall through the cracks even with all the entitlements,” he said. Now, “it’s bound to get worse.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
