Rhode Island Works, the state’s cash assistance and workforce development program, is designed to help very low-income families meet their basic needs — like food, housing, child care, and health care. The revised House budget for Rhode Island’s Fiscal Year 2026 maintains the status quo for Rhode Island Works — without a single expansion to assistance. In times like these, inaction carries real consequences.
Federal law requires that Rhode Island Works families cooperate to establish a child support order. In Rhode Island, only the first $50 of a child support payment is given to the custodial parent. The rest is intercepted by the state and federal government and kept as “cost recovery”— reimbursement for the aid provided.
This is ironic, considering Rhode Island currently does not contribute any general revenue funds toward Rhode Island Works cash assistance. In 2024, the state collected $3.1 million in child support payments from families receiving Rhode Island Works benefits, money that was split between the state and federal government. Even after families stop participating in Rhode Island Works, they can continue to have some of their child support withheld if past-due child support, known as “arrears,” is owed to the state. That is money meant to feed children and keep families afloat.
Child support is a critical resource for low-income families and plays a key role in reducing child poverty. States like Colorado and Illinois have recognized this and adopted full child support pass-through policies — ensuring that every dollar paid in child support goes directly to families. Maryland allows families to keep up to $100 for one child and $200 for two or more. Rhode Island has the ability to do the same — and it’s up to our legislators to make it happen. The federal government allows states to let families keep up to $100 per month in child support for one child and $200 per month for two or more children in current support to families each month, without requiring states to repay the federal government its portion of those payments.
Rhode Island should increase the child support pass-through for current Rhode Island Works families, as legislators did in Maryland. This would give Rhode Island Works families additional cash to cover their children’s essential needs like housing, school supplies, and clothing.
Improving Rhode Island Works also means building on the progress we’ve made. Rhode Island has recently increased monthly benefits twice, after decades of stagnation. But inflation continues to erode the value of those increases. We need a cost-of-living adjustment to make sure benefits keep pace with rising costs. Without it, Rhode Island’s most vulnerable families are at risk of experiencing deeper poverty as the costs of essentials such as food, housing, child care, and health care continue to rise. States like Maine, Ohio, and others have adopted this approach. Rhode Island should do the same.
At a time when immigrants are facing attacks on multiple fronts, we must also work to eliminate barriers to immigrant families accessing Rhode Island Works. In 2008, Rhode Island adopted a federal rule requiring legal permanent residents to wait five years before becoming eligible for Rhode Island Works. Before that, the state used its own funds to support eligible legal permanent resident families. This five-year wait period not only prevents families from receiving much needed cash assistance, but it also restricts their access to vital workforce development programs, training, and education — resources critical for securing employment. Thirteen states, including Connecticut and New York, continue to support eligible legal permanent resident families. Restoring this support would improve outcomes for children and allow more families to access the resources they need to become self-sufficient and contribute to our economy.
In 2023, Rhode Island received $94.7 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds – the grant that supports the Rhode Island Works program. Yet only 17 percent of those dollars were spent on basic assistance. We can do better. Rhode Island has the resources and flexibility to design a more just and effective program.
Legislators ready to approve the FY 2026 budget still have the opportunity to invest in Rhode Island Works and Rhode Islanders: It isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s smart, strategic public policy, and a good investment. We have proposed improvements to Rhode Island Works through S-658 and H-5992. Let’s return Rhode Island Works to its original purpose: Helping families rise out of poverty.
Arthur Handy is a state representative for Cranston (District 18). Melissa Murray is a state senator for Woonsocket and North Smithfield (District 24).