Written testimony to the Human Services Committee in support of the HB 7104 An Act Concerning Programs to Mitigate the Benefits Cliff
Representative Gilchrest, Senator Lesser, Representative Case, Representative Harding, Representative Comey, Senator Maher, and distinguished members of the Committee,
My name is Sarah Blanton and I am the CEO of 4-CT, a Connecticut-based nonprofit dedicated to providing targeted direct cash assistance to individuals and families facing financial hardship. Since our founding in 2020, we have seen firsthand how flexible financial assistance resolves emergencies, stabilizes families, and ensures safety in communities across the state. And it does so in a manner that fosters dignity and autonomy for recipients.
We applaud the General Assembly’s efforts to protect people with limited income who participate in direct cash transfer pilots from jeopardizing their receipt of benefits. We strongly support HB 7104 An Act Concerning Programs to Mitigate the Benefits Cliff.
Direct cash assistance programs have been, and are being, successfully implemented in our state. Since 2020, 4-CT has provided $8 million in unrestricted cash aid to more than 41,000 individuals across 271 zip codes in Connecticut, empowering them with same-day, flexible resources to meet their basic needs while investing in their futures. Our programs range from one-time emergency assistance to monthly cash transfers depending on the community needs.
Our experience and data suggests that the impact of direct cash assistance is clear:
People use funds responsibly—whether to cover rent, pay medical bills, buy groceries, or pursue educational and employment opportunities.
Stability leads to economic mobility—short-term assistance helps individuals avoid cycles of crisis, allowing them to focus on longer-term goals.
A strong return on investment—cash assistance strengthens families and local economies as recipients spend money on their households and essential goods and services in their communities. Additionally, a robust body of peer-reviewed research demonstrates that direct cash transfers to families facing financial hardship leads to long-term improvements in health, housing, and educational outcomes.
And while these programs are effective, the need for benefits protections is paramount.
4-CT has launched a series of pilots in collaboration with community and academic partners to evaluate the effects of cash transfers on particularly vulnerable populations. These include:
The Elm City Reentry Pilot, which has provided $500/month for twelve months to sixty individuals returning from prison to the New Haven area;
The Bridgeport and New Haven Health Equity Pilot, which has provided $500/month for six months to thirty formerly incarcerated individuals who also suffer from chronic disease; and
The Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Pilot, which has provided transfers of varying size to victims of violence coming through Yale New Haven Hospital (since 2022) and Connecticut Children’s (since 2024) hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs). Thanks to a grant from CT DPH, this work expanded to focus on prevention by partnering with the community-based organizations already working with HVIPs in Greater Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport.
A fourth pilot, Evaluating Transfers to Housing Insecure Caregivers (ETHIC)—designed in 2024 by Yale Law School students in conjunction with 4-CT and researchers at New York University School of Law—will provide $1,000 per month for six months to twenty-five families on the homeless shelter waitlist in the New Haven area. That pilot will study, among other outcomes, how direct cash transfers affect school attendance among children in housing-insecure families and whether direct cash transfers can reduce shelter system costs. The launch of this philanthropically funded program, and the disbursement of funds to families on the shelter waitlist, depends on the passage of this legislation. Without benefits protections in CT, it will likely be modified to launch in New York City and support families experiencing homelessness there.
It is critical that participants of cash assistance programs do not lose access to crucial safety net programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to increased income from pilots. Without protections,
the additional cash could trigger income thresholds or benefit cliffs, unintentionally leaving recipients worse off;
participants fearing a loss of benefits are discouraged from joining cash assistance program that could benefit them and their families;
organizations and agencies considering launching cash assistance programs in CT may direct their work to other states;
philanthropists looking to support these types of programs will not contribute here, and instead, will contribute to states like New York and Massachusetts where their dollars are likely to generate larger positive impacts given those states’ exemption procedures.
Under federal law, the calculation of a household’s gross income for purposes of SNAP is linked to the income calculation under a state’s TANF program. As a consequence, individuals and families that participate in cash transfer pilots in Connecticut stand to lose up to 30 cents in SNAP benefits for every dollar that they receive in direct cash transfers.
Neighboring states have amended their TANF programs to carve out specific exclusions for cash transfer pilots that are funded in part or in whole from private resources. Both Massachusetts and New York have established administrative processes whereby cash transfer pilot sponsors can ensure that payments to their participants will be exempted from income for purposes of state public benefit programs and SNAP, provided that the pilots receive private funding. Several other states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nebraska, have adopted similar TANF exemptions for qualifying cash transfer pilots—exemptions that carry over to SNAP. Furthermore, Connecticut’s failure to adopt an exemption process for direct cash pilot initiatives imposes an immediate cost on the state’s economy, as the reduction in SNAP benefits for direct cash pilot and initiative participants translates into fewer federal dollars flowing into the state.
Cash transfer pilots and initiatives have the potential to mitigate the negative consequences of poverty for child and adolescent development, place individuals and families on a path toward economic self-sufficiency, and contribute to the growing base of knowledge across the social sciences regarding effective anti-poverty interventions. This legislation will help expand the positive impact of these programs in our state with no additional cost to the state.
We welcome the opportunity to work with lawmakers to create a more stable future for Connecticut families, and continue to position Connecticut as a leader in cash transfer and other financial stability program research and implementation.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Sarah Blanton, CEO
