Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF /ˈtænɨf/) is one of the United States of America's federal assistance programs. It began in May, 1996, and succeeded the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, providing cash assistance to indigent American families with dependent children through the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to 1997, the federal government designed the overall program requirements and guidelines, while states administered the program and determined eligibility for benefits. Since 1997, states have been given block grants and both design and administer their own programs. Access to welfare and amount of assistance varied quite a bit by state and locality under AFDC, both because of the differences in state standards of need and considerable subjectivity in caseworker evaluation of qualifying "suitable homes."[2] However, welfare recipients under TANF are actually in completely different programs depending on their state of residence, with different social services available to them and different requirements for maintaining aid.[3]

TANF was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act instituted under President Bill Clinton in 1996. The Act provides temporary financial assistance while aiming to get people off of that assistance, primarily through employment. There is a maximum of 60 months of benefits within one's lifetime, but some states have instituted shorter periods.[4] In enforcing the 60-month time limit, some states place limits on the adult portion of the assistance only, while still aiding the otherwise eligible children in the household. While on aid, there is a component requiring non-exempt clients to attempt to find employment. Unmarried minor parents have to live with a responsible adult or guardian. Paternity of children must be established in order to receive benefits. These requirements have led to massive drops in the number of people receiving cash benefits since 1996. In the first ten years, the number of those receiving benefits dropped more than 70%.[5]

The table below shows these figures along with the annual unemployment rate.[6][7][8]

Average monthly TANF recipients, percent of U.S. families in poverty and unemployment rate
Year Average monthly TANF recipients US Population (%) Poverty rate (%) Annual unemployment rate (%)
1996 12,320,970 (see note) 4.6 11.0 5.4
1997 10,375,993 3.9 10.3 4.9
1998 8,347,136 3.1 10.0 4.5
1999 6,824,347 2.5 9.3 4.2
2000 5,778,034 1.4 8.7 4.0
2001 5,359,180 1.9 9.2 4.7
2002 5,069,010 1.8 9.6 5.8
2003 4,928,878 1.7 10.0 6.0
2004 4,748,115 1.6 10.2 5.5
2005 4,471,393 1.5 9.9 5.1
2006 4,166,659 1.4 9.8 4.6
2007 3,895,407 1.3 9.8 4.5
2008 3,795,007 1.2 10.3 5.4
2009 4,154,366 1.4 11.1 8.1
2010 4,375,022 1.4 11.7 8.6

Note: 1996 was the last year for the AFDC program, and is shown for comparison. All figures are for calendar years.

The purposes of the TANF program as described in section 601 of the Social Security Act are as follows:

  1. provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;
  2. end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
  3. prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and
  4. encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

TANF sets forward the following work requirements necessary for benefits:

  1. Recipients (with few exceptions) must work as soon as they are job ready or no later than two years after coming on assistance.
  2. Single parents are required to participate in work activities for at least 30 hours per week. Two-parent families must participate in work activities 35 or 55 hours a week, depending upon circumstances.
  3. Failure to participate in work requirements can result in a reduction or termination of benefits to the family.
  4. States, in FY 2004, have to ensure that 50 percent of all families and 90 percent of two-parent families are participating in work activities. If a state reduces its caseload, without restricting eligibility, it can receive a caseload reduction credit. This credit reduces the minimum participation rates the state must achieve.

In February 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress created a new TANF Emergency Fund (TANF EF), funded at $5 billion and available to states, territories, and tribes for federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010. The original TANF law provided for a Contingency Fund (CF) funded at $2 billion which allows states meeting economic triggers to draw additional funds based upon high levels of state MOE spending. This fund was expected to (and did) run out in FY 2010. The TANF Emergency Fund provided states 80 percent of the funding for spending increases in three categories of TANF-related expenditures in FYs 2009 or 2010 over FYs 2007 or 2008. The three categories of expenditures that could be claimed were basic assistance, non-recurrent short-term benefits, and subsidized employment.[9] The third category listed, subsidized employment, made national headlines[10] as states created nearly 250,000 adult and youth jobs through the funding.[11] The program however expired on September 30, 2010 on schedule with states drawing down the entire $5 billion allocated by ARRA.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ 2008 Indicators of Welfare Dependence Figure TANF 2.
  2. ^ Lieberman, Robert. Shifting the Color Line: Race and the American Welfare State. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2001.
  3. ^ Kaufman, Darren S. "Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADFC)." in Encyclopedia of Health Care Management, ed. Michael J. Stahl. SAGE Publications, 2003, p. 17
  4. ^ http://cqresearcherblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/are-safety-nets-working.html Are "Safety Nets" Working. CQ Researcher Blog
  5. ^ "Caseload Data". Administration for Children and Families. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/caseload/caseload_recent.html. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 
  6. ^ "Labor Force Statistics including the National Unemployment Rate". U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/data/. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
  7. ^ TANF - Caseload Data - US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance
  8. ^ Number Below Poverty Level and Rate - Historical Data - US Census, 2010
  9. ^ "Questions and Answers about the TANF Emergency Fund". Center for Law and Social Policy. http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/TANF-EFC-Q-Nov-2.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-08. 
  10. ^ Cooper, Michael (2010-09-25). "Job Loss Looms as Part of Stimulus Expires". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26stimulus.html?_r=3&hp. Retrieved 2010-10-08. 
  11. ^ "Walking Away From a Win-Win-Win Subsidized Jobs Slated to End Soon Are Helping Families, Businesses, and Communities Weather the Recession". Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3274. Retrieved 2010-10-08. 
  12. ^ "Approved State, Territory & DC TANF Emergency Fund Applications by Category". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/tanf/apprTANFemerfund.html. Retrieved 2010-10-08. 

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