off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Many policymakers see the 1996 welfare law’s creation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a major success and cite TANF’s structure — a block grant with fixed federal funding but broad state flexibility— as a model for other safety net programs.
But when we analyzed state-by-state data to examine how well states have maintained TANF’s role as a safety net, the results were sobering. TANF now provides a safety net for relatively few poor families with children.
In 1996, TANF provided cash aid to 68 families for every 100 families with children living in poverty. By 2010, this “TANF-to-poverty ratio” had plummeted to 27 (see first graph).
TANF-to-poverty ratios have fallen dramatically in all states since the mid-1990s (see second graph):
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- In 1994-95, almost half of the states had a ratio higher than 75. In 2009-10, none did.
- In 1994-95, no state had a ratio lower than 25. In 2009-10, half of the states did.
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