How the TANF Block Grant Falls Short:
Spending, Benefits and Reaching People in Need
If TANF had maintained the same reach to families in poverty as its predecessor had in 1996, nearly 3.1 million families would have received TANF in 2019, about 2 million more than reported for that year.
States spend only about a fifth of their combined federal and state dollars under TANF on basic assistance for families with children.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the primary cash assistance program for families with the lowest incomes, are at their weakest point in the program’s history in most states. In 33...