Preserving the Welfare Safety Net:
A Constitutional Right in New York

Resolution adopted at the May 15, 1997 Meeting

of the New York Democratic State Committee 

            Article XVII of the New York State Constitution requires our state to provide for the care of our needy residents.  No person, and particularly no child, should ever be without food and shelter.  New York should reaffirm its commitment to this fundamental ethical principle of a just society.  

            The Democratic Party of New York State calls for expanded job training, day care and transportation assistance to enable welfare recipients to find adequate employment.  No person should be deprived of welfare benefits based on arbitrary time limits, nor a genuine inability to find adequate employment. 

            This Resolution was written by Robert Ginsberg and Marcia Allina, proposed by the Reform Caucus of the NY Democratic State Committee, and adopted at the May 15, 1997 meeting of the New York Democratic State Committee in Albany, NY.