Welfare Reform/TANF Archive
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General Assistance Programs: Safety Net Weakening Despite Increased Need
Updated December 19, 2011
State General Assistance programs, which provide a safety net of last resort for those who are very poor and do not qualify for other public assistance, have weakened considerably in recent decades and are continuing to do so, despite the large increase in need resulting from the recession. This report discusses how General Assistance Programs … -
TANF Benefits Fell Further in 2011 and Are Worth Much Less Than in 1996 in Most States
November 21, 2011
Cash assistance benefits for the nation's poorest families with children fell again in purchasing power in 2011 and are now at least 20 percent below their 1996 levels in 34 states, after adjusting for inflation. While most states froze benefit levels in 2011, six states and the District of Columbia cut them, reducing … -
Poverty and Financial Distress Would Have Been Substantially Worse in 2010 Without Government Action, New Census Data Show
November 7, 2011
Six temporary federal initiatives enacted in 2009 and 2010 to bolster the economy by lifting consumers’ incomes and purchases kept nearly 7 million Americans out of poverty in 2010, under an alternative measure of poverty that takes into account the impact of government benefit programs and taxes. These initiatives — three … -
Many States Cutting TANF Benefits Harshly Despite High Unemployment and Unprecedented Need
Updated October 3, 2011
In 2011, states implemented some of the harshest cuts in recent history for many of the nation's most vulnerable families with children who are receiving assistance through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The cuts affect 700,000 low-income families that include 1.3 million children; these families … -
Testimony: LaDonna Pavetti, Ph.D., Vice President, Family Income Support Policy, Hearing on “Improving Work and Other Welfare Reform Goals”
September 8, 2011
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. TANF was created 15 years ago with a balanced approach in mind – that our nation's cash assistance system would be redesigned to create an expectation of work for able-bodied recipients and that a safety net would be maintained for parents who were unable to work due to a … -
TANF’s Inadequate Response to Recession Highlights Weakness of Block-Grant Structure
July 14, 2011
Leading conservatives in Congress – including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan – as well as some conservative activists and commentators [1] have recently cited welfare reform and the TANF block-grant structure as a model for reshaping the federal-state funding relationship in other programs for low-income … -
Expiration of TANF Supplemental Grants a Further Sign of Weakening Federal Support for Welfare Reform
June 27, 2011
In a continued unraveling of the deal that Congress made with the states in enacting the 1996 welfare reform law, federal Supplemental Grants provided every year since 1996 to 17 states to augment their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant will expire on July 1 (see Figure 1). These states include some of … -
Redesigning the TANF Contingency Fund to Make it More Effective
June 13, 2011
When Congress created the TANF block grant in 1996, it created the TANF Contingency Fund for states to draw upon during periods of economic distress. This fund was intended to address some of the risks and hardships states would face as a result of the conversion of the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children program — an … -
Earned Income Tax Credit Overpayment and Error Issues
Updated April 19, 2011
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax credit for low- and moderate-income working families, has been widely hailed for its success in increasing work and lowering welfare receipt, reducing poverty, and making the tax code fairer. (See the box below.) Census data indicate that the credit lifted 6.6 million individuals out of poverty in 2009, including more than 3 million children. The EITC lifts more children out of poverty than any other program.
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Testimony of LaDonna Pavetti, Ph.D. Vice President, Family Income Support Policy before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources
April 5, 2011
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. In its recent report, “Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue,” the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) examined programs throughout the government with an eye towards identifying … -
Republican Study Committee Bill Would Require Deepest Cuts in Programs for the Poor in U.S. History
April 5, 2011
Legislation unveiled last month by the Republican Study Committee, the powerful caucus that includes 176 House Republican members, would require the most severe cuts in programs for the poor in the nation’s history. Introduced by RSC Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), Tim Scott (R-SC), and RSC Budget and Spending Task Force Chair … -
Podcast: Improving the Delivery of Key Work Supports at this Critical Moment
March 8, 2011
Stacy Dean, Vice President for Food Assistance Policy, and Dottie Rosenbaum, Senior Analyst, discuss the Work Support Strategies Initiative and their report on improving the delivery of key services to needy families.
Duration: 8:36
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Improving the Delivery of Key Work Supports
February 24, 2011
For more than 15 years, federal and state governments have been working together in earnest to simplify enrollment in public benefit programs. Their work has been driven by the fact that the share of people who participate in public programs has not kept pace with the need; by a desire to make full use of the federal … -
Creating Subsidized Employment Opportunities for Low-Income Parents
February 16, 2011
Issued Jointly With Amidst the worst downturn since the Great Depression, Congress included the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund [1] in the 2009 Recovery Act to help states cover the costs of providing more assistance to low-income families suffering from the ill effects of the … -
TANF Responded Unevenly to Increase in Need During Downturn
(with state-by-state fact sheets)
January 25, 2011
Nationally, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides basic assistance to low-income families with little or no income, has only been modestly responsive to the economic downturn. Using data collected directly from the states, [1] we estimate that between December 2007 and December 2009, TANF caseloads increased by just 13 percent, while … -
Despite Deep Recession and High Unemployment, Government Efforts — Including the Recovery Act — Prevented Poverty from Rising in 2009, New Census Data Show
January 5, 2011
Despite a deep recession, very high unemployment, and widespread hardship, a combination of existing safety net programs and temporary expansions in them enacted in 2009 all but prevented a rise in the poverty rate that year, according to a Center analysis of new poverty data the U.S. Census Bureau released this week that …
