Title

"News" piece on Kaija Comin, 26, of Brewer, who filed suit last month in Penobsc

Authors

Chris Barker

Source

Maine Times

Date

3-28-2002

Pages

3

Abstract

"News" piece on Kaija Comin, 26, of Brewer, who filed suit last month in Penobscot County Superior Court to keep her welfare benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Comin, a mother of three, told a state caseworker that her boyfriend, Shawn Bradford, who is also the father of her children, visits daily and stays overnight at least two days per week. Three days later, on Nov. 16, 2001, her $611-per-month welfare benefit was terminated., along with her subsidized childcare program. Her case will turn on the state of Maine's interpretation of the role of a parent. Mary Henderson, executive director of the Maine Equal Justice Project, said caseworkers in Maine deny benefits to mothers who are still in contact with the fathers of their children. Comin seeks the legal point at which children are officially "deprived" of their father's care, and thus deserving of welfare benefits. Currently, there are 11,021 families in Maine receiving benefits under TANF.

Subjects

Actions and defenses, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Comin, Kaija

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