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Erie County pilot program to target ‘benefits cliff’

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (Spectrum News 1) — Erie County leaders announced a new pilot program aimed to help the working poor.

County Executive Mark Poloncarz introduced the Live Well Erie Workforce Development Pilot Project that connects employers, employees and community resources to help people who receive social services overcome the “benefits cliff.”

“The cliff works in such a way that if you make one more dollar, you lose 100%,” said Dottie Gallagher, Buffalo Niagara Partnership president and CEO. “There’s no smoothing, which is what there should be to create an incentive for people to actually invest in themselves.”

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