Kentucky Needs a Safety Net that Works for Us, Not Against Us

Many Kentuckians are simply a lost job, new baby, accident or illness away from qualifying for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (K-TAP) – “safety net” programs that exist to catch us when we fall and sustain us while we get back on our feet. Kentuckians who are underpaid, working multiple part-time jobs, struggling with a disability or other barriers to economic security are able to meet basic needs with the support from these programs. And Kentucky’s children who benefit from the safety net are better off later in life because of them.

In an open letter signed by more than 60 organizations last December, many of us laid out our shared principles for what a strong and effective safety net should look like, calling on our public leaders to ensure access to vital assistance programs without barriers, honor the inherent dignity of people who participate, and prioritize equitable outcomes for Kentuckians of color, women and those living in distressed local economies.

Recently, House Leadership filed HB 1, a proposal that fundamentally changes public assistance programs in ways that would take away support from Kentuckians when we need it most. We, the undersigned, urge legislators to recognize the importance of health, food, cash, child care and other forms of assistance in the lives of constituents throughout the commonwealth, reject measures that will harm Kentuckians and our communities by taking assistance away, and choose reforms that make us stronger.

The theory that punitive measures are needed to get people off public assistance and into work is not backed by data. Federal and state experiments with erecting barriers to participation haven’t improved already high rates of employment or reduced already low rates of fraud, but have deepened poverty. Such measures reinforce stigmatizing stereotypes and fail to reflect reality for Kentuckians who are doing their best to make ends meet. Decades of data show that by creating numerous barriers to health, food, and other forms of assistance, HB 1 will leave people worse off. For some of us, it would create an absolute lifetime ban on all forms of support.

These reforms invest in Kentuckians, rather than making it harder for people to be healthy and productive. We, the undersigned, urge our legislators to listen to the voices of Kentuckians who are better off because of food, health, child care and other forms of assistance, consider the unequivocal evidence backing a supportive rather than punitive approach to our safety net, and work with stakeholders to design a bill that improves Kentuckians’ well-being – the foundation of our state’s shared prosperity.