State Drops Welfare Bonus Payment

The state Health and Welfare Department has had a program granting welfare families an extra $50 per month, if an absent parent paid child support.

But Judy Brooks, administrator of the Division of Welfare, said Friday the bonus is being dropped at the recommendation of the Governor’s Welfare Reform Advisory Council. There will be no bonus checks in December.

The panel decided the program was expensive and unfair.

About 9,000 families were eligible for the extra money, but an average of 1,800 per month qualified for it.

Families who qualified for the bonus checks have been notified they won’t be coming anymore.