The Kansas Department for Children and Families is lifting a restriction on ATM withdrawals by people on cash assistance programs.
Lawmakers this year put a controversial $25-per-day limit on the cash withdrawals of welfare benefits. They later amended the law to give the secretary of DCF the ability to change or rescind the limit, after concerns the rule could put federal grant money in jeopardy.
Theresa Freed, with DCF, says they were waiting for word from the federal government.
“That original fix didn’t entitle the secretary to make a unilateral decision. She needed the (federal) guidance in order to move forward with either reducing or rescinding that limit, and ultimately we decided to rescind,” says Freed.
Federal officials told DCF that the $25-per-day limit would not give families on cash assistance programs adequate access to their benefits. The rule would have affected 15,000 Kansas residents receiving cash benefits.