Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Introduction

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides assistance and work opportunities to needy families by granting states the federal funds and wide flexibility to develop and implement their own welfare programs. TANF was created by the Act to reform the social assistance (Welfare Reform Law) of 1996 and replaced what was commonly known as welfare (Friedman, 2006 and Gariepy, 2005). TANF programs are administered by the Office of Family Assistance (Office of Family Assistance), located in the Administration of Children and Families Department of Health and Human Services U.S. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families), and are implemented by states, territories and tribes, so the eligibility, benefits and services vary from state to state.

Purpose

The main goal of TANF is to move the recipients from receiving welfare benefits to working and being self-sufficient (Hawkins, 2005). Current and past government administrations emphasized the importance of moving from welfare to workfare. The president Clinton who took the main role in introducing TANF said, “We want a welfare system which emphasizes getting people to work, self-sufficiency, and welfare as a transition, not as a way of life” (as cited in Hawkins, 2005, p. 78). TANF objectives are to reduce welfare dependence, a high rate of births out of wedlock, and high male unemployment, and ultimately achieve a goal of every family having a breadwinner and having people make better choices when it comes to education, family planning and work (Hawkins, 2005).

How it Works

Individual states, not the federal government, set income eligibility levels for TANF. The one requirement put forth by the federal government is that TANF funds be used for families with children. Women make up around 90% of TANF's caseload, the vast majority of which are single mothers (Lindhorst & Mancoske, 2006). Some states may provide certain services such as child care for working poor families whose income is just above the TANF eligibility cutoff. However, due to massive budget shortfalls, many states have cut work support subsidies for families with incomes above the TANF eligibility levels. Under current law, welfare recipients may only receive assistance for a maximum of 60 months in their lifetime. However, states may use their own money to extend this lifetime limit for up to 20% of their caseload (Lindhorst & Mancoske, 2006). Exemptions may be provided for individuals with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, residents of high unemployment areas and those caring for young children. Twenty eight states have time limits that exceed 60 months, twenty states have shorter time limits, and two states have no time limits at all (Lindhorst & Mancoske, 2006). Many individuals receive some form of support, like child care assistance, while they are working. In many states, these supports are counted against the 60 month limit for TANF assistance.

In order to qualify for TANF, liquid and non-liquid resources are evaluated to determine whether or not they are countable. Countable resources cannot exceed $2,000 per TANF ...