Kansas City Star Cites Butler’s TANF Study
A 2013 study by Sandra Butler, a University of Maine social work professor, was cited in a Kansas City Star article about Missouri lawmakers voting to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would cut thousands of low-income residents off a federal welfare program. Butler’s study, “TANF Time Limits and Maine Families: Consequences of Withdrawing the Safety Net,” found that families kicked off TANF because of exceeding lifetime benefits in Maine experienced increased reliance on food banks, inability to pay utility and other bills, and overcrowded housing conditions or reliance on homeless shelters, the article states.