LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Judge Temporarily Halts Welfare Benefits Cuts

A judge Monday temporarily barred Los Angeles County from cutting general relief benefits of welfare recipients threatened with eviction.

Those who file a sworn statement that they are facing eviction because of the county’s cutback, set to take effect Wednesday, will have their benefits restored at least for a week, Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne said. She is scheduled to preside over a broader challenge to the cuts by anti-poverty groups at a hearing Sept. 7.

Richard Rothschild, an attorney with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles will assist recipients facing eviction as a result of the planned reduction of monthly benefits from $285 to $212 by helping them file the required sworn statements.