A core purpose of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is to provide families that have fallen on hard economic times with direct ... Read more
In both good and bad economic times, there are people who need help to gain skills and secure stable employment. So, while today’s official unemployment ... Read more
Under the TANF block grant, states get a fixed amount of federal funding each year and must also contribute some state funding. In drafting the 1996 law, federal policymakers gave states broad flexibility in how they can spend these federal and state TANF funds on the theory that states would invest the savings from declining cash assistance caseloads into work programs and work supports, such as child care or transportation. But that isn’t what happened. Read more
Some policymakers have pointed to TANF’s performance as a work program as a reason to extend TANF-like work requirements to other programs, but the facts suggest otherwise. TANF has never lived up to its promise of moving families out of poverty through work. Read more
The TANF block grant is supposed provide a temporary safety net to poor families, primarily those with no other means to meet basic needs. But the reach of cash assistance has declined dramatically over time. Read more
TANF reaches far fewer poor families than its predecessor, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and the families who manage to receive TANF cash assistance rely on increasingly inadequate benefits that make it hard for parents and caregivers to provide the basics for their children. Read more
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant was created 22 years ago as a part of the 1996 welfare reform law to replace ... Read more
For the millions of Americans struggling to afford the basics — such as food, medicine, and shelter — cash income is essential to averting extreme hardship and deprivation. Government economic security programs often don’t reach all families in need or provide adequate benefits. Read more
