Arizona limits poverty aid to 1 year; strictest in U.S.

That's when a one-year lifetime limit on cash assistance kicked in for families receiving help from the Temporary Aid to Needy Families program. It means an estimated 2,500 people — including 1,500 kids — will no longer qualify for the modest stipends the program provides. The average payment is $278.

When the Legislature approved the one-year limit last year, the justification was financial: The state was in a budget crunch and savings had to be found. But since then, state coffers have rebounded and, this year, lawmakers faced a modest surplus. Despite that, proposals from Democrats and advocates for the poor to keep the program at its two-year limit went unheeded.

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