Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, often pronounced ) is one of the United States of America's federal assistance programs. It began on July 1, 1997, 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."[1] 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.[2]

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 (some states have instituted shorter periods).[3] 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,[4] but there has been little change in the national poverty rate during this time. [5] The table below shows these figures along with the annual unemployment rate. [6]

Average Monthly TANF Recipients, Percent of U.S. Families in Poverty and Unemployment Rate
Year Avg Monthly TANF Recipients Poverty Rate (%) Annual Unemployment Rate (%)
1996 12,320,970 (see note) 11.0 5.4
1997 10,375,993 10.3 4.9
1998 8,347,136 10.0 4.5
1999 6,824,347 9.3 4.2
2000 5,778,034 8.7 4.0
2001 5,359,180 9.2 4.7
2002 5,069,010 9.6 5.8
2003 4,928,878 10.0 6.0
2004 4,748,115 10.2 5.5
2005 4,471,393 9.9 5.1
2006 4,166,659 9.8 4.6
2007 3,895,407 9.8 4.6

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.

Notes

  1. ^ Lieberman, Robert. Shifting the Color Line: Race and the American Welfare State. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2001.
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ http://cqresearcherblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/are-safety-nets-working.html Are "Safety Nets" Working. CQ Researcher Blog
  4. ^ "Caseload Data". Administration for Children and Families. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/caseload/caseload_recent.html. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 
  5. ^ "Historical Poverty Tables". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/histpovtb.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. 

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This page was last modified on 5 January 2010 at 19:57.

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