The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant PDF Author: Gene Falk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides federal grants to states for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities. It is best known for helping states pay for cash welfare for needy families with children, but it funds a wide array of additional activities. TANF was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). TANF funding and program authority were extended through FY2010 by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA, P.L. 109-171). TANF provides a basic block grant of $16.5 billion to the 50 states and District of Columbia, and $0.1 billion to U.S. territories. Additionally, 17 states qualify for supplemental grants that total $319 million. TANF also requires states to contribute from their own funds at least $10.4 billion for benefits and services to needy families with children -- this is known as the maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement. States may use TANF and MOE funds in any manner "reasonably calculated" to achieve TANF's statutory purpose. This purpose is to increase state flexibility to achieve four goals: (1) provide assistance to needy families with children so that they can live in their own homes or the homes of relatives; (2) end dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage; (3) reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) promote the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. Though TANF is a block grant, there are some strings attached to states' use of funds, particularly for families receiving "assistance" (essentially cash welfare). States must meet TANF work participation standards or be penalised by a reduction in their block grant. The law sets standards stipulating that at least 50% of all families and 90% of two-parent families must be participating, but these statutory standards are reduced for declines in the cash welfare caseload. (Some families are excluded from the participation rate calculation.) Activities creditable toward meeting these standards are focused on work or are intended to rapidly attach welfare recipients to the workforce; education and training is limited. Federal TANF funds may not be used for a family with an adult that has received assistance for 60 months. This is the five-year time limit on welfare receipt. However, up to 20% of the caseload may be extended beyond the five years for reason of "hardship", with hardship defined by the states. Additionally, states may use funds that they must spend to meet the TANF MOE to aid families beyond five years. TANF work participation rules and time limits do not apply to families receiving benefits and services not considered "assistance". Child care, transportation aid, state earned income tax credits for working families, activities to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, activities to promote marriage and two-parent families, and activities to help families that have experienced or are "at risk" of child abuse and neglect are examples of such "nonassistance".

Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States

Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States PDF Author: National Bureau of Economic Research
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226533568
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Few United States government programs are as controversial as those designed to aid the poor. From tax credits to medical assistance, aid to needy families is surrounded by debate—on what benefits should be offered, what forms they should take, and how they should be administered. The past few decades, in fact, have seen this debate lead to broad transformations of aid programs themselves, with Aid to Families with Dependent Children replaced by Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, the Earned Income Tax Credit growing from a minor program to one of the most important for low-income families, and Medicaid greatly expanding its eligibility. This volume provides a remarkable overview of how such programs actually work, offering an impressive wealth of information on the nation's nine largest "means-tested" programs—that is, those in which some test of income forms the basis for participation. For each program, contributors describe origins and goals, summarize policy histories and current rules, and discuss the recipient's characteristics as well as the different types of benefits they receive. Each chapter then provides an overview of scholarly research on each program, bringing together the results of the field's most rigorous statistical examinations. The result is a fascinating portrayal of the evolution and current state of means-tested programs, one that charts a number of shifts in emphasis—the decline of cash assistance, for instance, and the increasing emphasis on work. This exemplary portrait of the nation's safety net will be an invaluable reference for anyone interested in American social policy.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant PDF Author: Gene Falk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides federal grants to states for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities. It is best known for helping states pay for cash welfare for needy families with children, but it funds a wide array of additional activities. TANF was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). TANF funding and program authority were extended through FY2010 by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA, P.L. 109-171). TANF provides a basic block grant of $16.5 billion to the 50 states and District of Columbia, and $0.1 billion to U.S. territories. Additionally, 17 states qualify for supplemental grants that total $319 million. TANF also requires states to contribute from their own funds at least $10.4 billion for benefits and services to needy families with children -- this is known as the maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement. States may use TANF and MOE funds in any manner "reasonably calculated" to achieve TANF's statutory purpose. This purpose is to increase state flexibility to achieve four goals: (1) provide assistance to needy families with children so that they can live in their own homes or the homes of relatives; (2) end dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage; (3) reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) promote the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. Though TANF is a block grant, there are some strings attached to states' use of funds, particularly for families receiving "assistance" (essentially cash welfare). States must meet TANF work participation standards or be penalised by a reduction in their block grant. The law sets standards stipulating that at least 50% of all families and 90% of two-parent families must be participating, but these statutory standards are reduced for declines in the cash welfare caseload. (Some families are excluded from the participation rate calculation.) Activities creditable toward meeting these standards are focused on work or are intended to rapidly attach welfare recipients to the workforce; education and training is limited. Federal TANF funds may not be used for a family with an adult that has received assistance for 60 months. This is the five-year time limit on welfare receipt. However, up to 20% of the caseload may be extended beyond the five years for reason of "hardship", with hardship defined by the states. Additionally, states may use funds that they must spend to meet the TANF MOE to aid families beyond five years. TANF work participation rules and time limits do not apply to families receiving benefits and services not considered "assistance". Child care, transportation aid, state earned income tax credits for working families, activities to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, activities to promote marriage and two-parent families, and activities to help families that have experienced or are "at risk" of child abuse and neglect are examples of such "nonassistance".

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families PDF Author: Patrick Santiago
Publisher: Novinka Books
ISBN: 9781634824354
Category : Aid to families with dependent children programs
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant helps states fund, among other benefits and services, cash assistance for needy families with children. While there are some federal rules that determine who may qualify for TANF-funded cash assistance (e.g., the family must have a dependent child), states determine the financial eligibility criteria and cash assistance benefit amounts. There is a large amount of variation among the states in the income thresholds that determine whether a family is eligible for cash assistance and in the benefit amounts paid. This book describes state TANF financial eligibility rules and maximum benefit amounts; and discusses spending and policy options for TANF.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program ... Annual Report to Congress

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program ... Annual Report to Congress PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Child welfare
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description


New York State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

New York State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Presents the New York Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) state plan. Allows users to download the full text of TANF documents. Notes that the state's program is no longer Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), but is now called Family Assistance (FA). Links to the home page of the Department of Family Assistance.

A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty

A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309483980
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 619

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Book Description
The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a well-functioning and prosperous society, yet America's future is not as secure as it could be because millions of American children live in families with incomes below the poverty line. A wealth of evidence suggests that a lack of adequate economic resources for families with children compromises these children's ability to grow and achieve adult success, hurting them and the broader society. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty reviews the research on linkages between child poverty and child well-being, and analyzes the poverty-reducing effects of major assistance programs directed at children and families. This report also provides policy and program recommendations for reducing the number of children living in poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tanf) Block Grant

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tanf) Block Grant PDF Author: Elmer Nash
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781536156492
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193). That law was the culmination of a series of legislative changes that altered the rules for providing benefits and services to needy families with children. This book contains important issues regarding TANF. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an overview of TANF financing and rules for state programs. Chapter 3 begins with a brief overview of the history of the AFDC program and the welfare reform debates of the 1960s to the 1990s. That will be followed by a summary of the 1996 welfare reform law and the changes made since 1996. The chapter concludes with a detailed chronology of TANF legislation. Chapter 4 looks at the TANF legislation in the 114th Congress. Chapter 5 responds to some frequently asked questions about TANF. The proposed Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act (H.R. 2842), as it passed the House, would provide $100 million in FY2018 funding under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant for demonstrations to test two approachessubsidized employment and career pathways programsto help disadvantaged individuals as reported in chapter 6. Chapter 7 provides an overview of TANFs federal rules regarding participation in work and job preparation, shows the trends in the TANF work participation rate (WPR); and examines the degree to which non-employed TANF work-eligible individuals are engaged in welfare-to-work activities. Chapter 8 summarizes the findings from the pre-1996 welfare-to-work experiments as well as the limits of applying those findings to the current policy debate around work requirements. Chapter 9 provides information on the size of the cash assistance caseload. It examines the number of people receiving cash assistance relative to the number of people who meet these programs eligibility criteria. Chapter 10 examines the characteristics of the TANF cash assistance caseload in FY2013, and compares it with selected post-welfare reform years (FY2001 and FY2006) and pre-welfare reform years (FY1988 and FY1994)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 9

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Book Description


Strategies for Serving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Recipients with Disabilities

Strategies for Serving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Recipients with Disabilities PDF Author: Mariah Nichols
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781633218949
Category : Families
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Policymakers and program operators have long worked to understand how state and federal programs can best serve low-income families in which one parent or more has a disability. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), serves low-income families, some of whom include individuals who have disabilities or other work limitations. The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), serves low-income individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. Though these two programs have overlapping goals of supporting low-income people with disabilities, while encouraging self-sufficiency and employment, they have key differences in approach, structure, and definitions that pose challenges to coordination. This book describes how TANF agencies work with participants who have a disability and how they interact with local SSA offices; presents findings from analyses of merged TANF and SSI data, documenting the extent to which adult TANF recipients are connected with the SSI system and how they contribute to the overall dynamics of caseload changes in SSI; and describes the implementation and findings of three promising pilot interventions.

Race and the Politics of Welfare Reform

Race and the Politics of Welfare Reform PDF Author: Sanford F. Schram
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472025511
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
It's hard to imagine discussing welfare policy without discussing race, yet all too often this uncomfortable factor is avoided or simply ignored. Sometimes the relationship between welfare and race is treated as so self-evident as to need no further attention; equally often, race in the context of welfare is glossed over, lest it raise hard questions about racism in American society as a whole. Either way, ducking the issue misrepresents the facts and misleads the public and policy-makers alike. Many scholars have addressed specific aspects of this subject, but until now there has been no single integrated overview. Race and the Politics of Welfare Reform is designed to fill this need and provide a forum for a range of voices and perspectives that reaffirm the key role race has played--and continues to play--in our approach to poverty. The essays collected here offer a systematic, step-by-step approach to the issue. Part 1 traces the evolution of welfare from the 1930s to the sweeping Clinton-era reforms, providing a historical context within which to consider today's attitudes and strategies. Part 2 looks at media representation and public perception, observing, for instance, that although blacks accounted for only about one-third of America's poor from 1967 to 1992, they featured in nearly two-thirds of news stories on poverty, a bias inevitably reflected in public attitudes. Part 3 discusses public discourse, asking questions like "Whose voices get heard and why?" and "What does 'race' mean to different constituencies?" For although "old-fashioned" racism has been replaced by euphemism, many of the same underlying prejudices still drive welfare debates--and indeed are all the more pernicious for being unspoken. Part 4 examines policy choices and implementation, showing how even the best-intentioned reform often simply displaces institutional inequities to the individual level--bias exercised case by case but no less discriminatory in effect. Part 5 explores the effects of welfare reform and the implications of transferring policy-making to the states, where local politics and increasing use of referendum balloting introduce new, often unpredictable concerns. Finally, Frances Fox Piven's concluding commentary, "Why Welfare Is Racist," offers a provocative response to the views expressed in the pages that have gone before--intended not as a "last word" but rather as the opening argument in an ongoing, necessary, and newly envisioned national debate. Sanford Schram is Visiting Professor of Social Work and Social Research, Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. Joe Soss teaches in the Department of Government at the Graduate school of Public Affairs, American University, Washington, D.C. Richard Fording is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Kentucky.