General Assistance is a term used in the United States to denote welfare programs that benefit adults without dependents (single persons, or less commonly, childless married couples) as opposed to families with children, who receive assistance from the federal program formerly known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and, since 1996, officially known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Welfare has four main meanings. ... Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) is the forrmer name for a welfare program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

During the Great Depression, the principal welfare program known as Home Relief — established as part of the New Deal — made no distinction as to the presence or absence of children in a needy household, but in 1935 a distinct program for such households with children was spun off from the main program. The Great Depression was the global economic slump that began in 1929 and bottomed in 1933. ... The New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelts legislative agenda for rescuing the United States from the Great Depression. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In later years, individual states were given broad discretion as to how much in benefits — and indeed, any benefits — need be paid to adults without dependent children; and the trend since the 1980s has been for states to sharply curtail, and even eliminate, such aid. As of 2005, only two states — New Jersey and Utah — still paid cash welfare benefits to childless adults deemed "able-bodied" (many other states do allow such payments to be made if a disability is demonstrated). In any event, the person(s) seeking General Assistance must first apply for any other programs — state or federal — for which alternate eligibility may or may not exist; only if all such applications are denied is the applicant then permitted to receive General Assistance benefits, which usually include food stamps, and often, assistance in paying for rental housing. Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... State nickname: The Garden State Other U.S. States Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Governor Richard Codey (acting) Official languages None defined Area 22,608 km² (47th)  - Land 19,231 km²  - Water 3,378 km² (14. ... State nickname: Beehive State Other U.S. States Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. ... The Food Stamp Program is a program that provides food to low income people living in the United States. ...

In some states, General Assistance programs are not universal, and the policies of different counties or cities therein may differ widely. California is such a state; San Francisco once paid the most generous benefits in the state, but these were drastically reduced after Gavin Newsom was elected mayor of that city in 2003, on a controversial platform known as "Care Not Cash." State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... This article is about the city in California. ... Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, California. ... A mayor (from the Latin maīor, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...