Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federal program in the United States aimed at providing financial assistance to low-income families, particularly those with children. Established by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, TANF replaced the earlier Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, marking a significant shift in welfare policy. The program is administered through block grants to states, which have the flexibility to design their own assistance programs while adhering to federal guidelines. TANF supports initiatives that encourage employment among parents, aiming to promote self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on government assistance.
Eligible families must have at least one child under the age of nineteen or a pregnant woman and must meet certain work requirements, which vary based on family composition. TANF limits cash assistance to a maximum of sixty months, although states can provide exemptions due to hardship. While TANF has been associated with a notable decrease in welfare caseloads, critics argue that this reduction does not necessarily reflect improved economic conditions for families, as many still face barriers to employment. The program has undergone scrutiny regarding its effectiveness in alleviating poverty, with some studies indicating that the number of families receiving assistance has decreased despite rising poverty levels. Overall, TANF remains a pivotal element of welfare reform, reflecting ongoing debates about the best approaches to support needy families in the United States.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a US government program managed by the US Department of Health and Human Services that distributes grant funds to states and territories to provide financial assistance to poor families with little to no income. In 2025, official government figures placed the US poverty rate at 11.1 percent. TANF was designed to help needy families become self-sufficient. TANF was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 to replace the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which had provided financial aid to indigent American families since 1935. The TANF program is a cornerstone of welfare reform efforts of the 1990s.
TANF funds are dispersed through block grants to US states and territories. States with high population growth or a high proportion of needy families were eligible for supplemental grants under the PRWORA. States have leeway in carrying out the program, but families who receive TANF funds must include at least one child under the age of nineteen or a pregnant woman. Applicants must also be a US national, US citizen, legal alien, or permanent resident.
States are required to further TANF’s goals of providing assistance to allow children to be cared for in their own homes; to reduce the dependency of parents by promoting job preparation and employment; to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and to support two-parent families. PRWORA also revised policies on the child support enforcement program, assistance to legal immigrants, and the federal food stamp program.
Background
TANF provides cash assistance to needy families for a limited period of time, but the program was designed to promote the employment of poor parents in order to make them financially independent. States are required to submit proof that at least 50 percent of all TANF families have one member working at least thirty hours a week according to specific federal guidelines. Many states have raised that minimum to thirty-five hours per week. In the case of single parents with children under the age of six, the work requirement is twenty hours per week. Two-parent families must work at least thirty-five hours a week if they are not receiving federally funded child care and at least fifty-five hours a week if they are receiving federally funded child care. Work-hour requirements may be met through subsidized and unsubsidized employment, on-the-job training, job search and job readiness training, community service, up to twelve months of vocational training, or by providing child care for individuals who are participating in a community service program.
Congress initially budgeted $16.38 billion to fund TANF annually for fiscal years 1997 to 2003 and extended it through 2010 with the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which increased the proportion of TANF recipients who must participate in work activities each week. Since that time, Congress has allotted TANF funding through several short-term extensions. Each state’s allotment of funds is based on the amount spent on welfare programs, such as the AFDC program and Emergency Assistance, prior to the enactment of TANF. No more than 15 percent of a state’s TANF funds may be used to cover administrative costs. States may transfer up to 30 percent of their TANF funds into child care and social services block grants. Federal TANF spending has not been adjusted for inflation, so its purchasing power declined by approximately 25 percent between 1998 and 2013. In 2024, the US government spent $16.5 billion on TANF, the lowest inflation-adjusted amount since the creation of the program.
Individual states determine eligibility requirements and establish their own assistance programs. States also have discretion in deciding what portion of TANF funds goes to needy families in the form of cash assistance or to the provision of TANF-funded child care, work support, or transportation services. TANF limits recipients to sixty months of cash assistance, but states may choose to exempt one-fifth of recipients from the time limit based on hardship. In practice, a number of states have set assistance limits at less than sixty months. School attendance is mandatory for unmarried custodial parents under the age of eighteen who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent education. Single mothers who receive TANF benefits must agree to take steps necessary to collect child support, including the establishment of paternity. Anyone convicted of a drug felony can be declared ineligible for TANF benefits.
States follow the maintenance of effort (MOE) provisions to allot TANF funds. The MOE provisions outline the general requirements on the use of TANF funds and specify state spending levels. Data from the US Department of Health and Human Services show that in 2022, 23 percent of TANF funds were spent on basic assistance; 15.5 percent on child care (spent or transferred); and 8.1 percent on work, education, and training activities. The remaining funds were spent on other programs, such as out-of-wedlock pregnancy prevention, work supports and supportive services, nonrecurrent short-term benefits, and services for youth and children.
Impact
Both public and private studies have examined TANF in order to determine its impact; results have been mixed. While TANF advocates insist that it has reduced the number of welfare recipients in the United States, with total TANF caseloads falling by approximately 63 percent between 2010 and 2022, critics point out that the welfare reductions have not alleviated poverty. They argue that fewer people receive assistance not because they no longer need it but because they are no longer eligible for TANF. Many American families living in poverty who are unable to receive TANF benefits typically have barriers to employment that prevent them from meeting their state’s TANF work requirements, such as mental or physical disabilities, domestic violence, low skill levels, or problems with child care, transportation, or housing.
In 2020, for every 100 families living in poverty in the United States, only 21 received TANF benefits. This was down from 68 families in 1996. During the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2022, the number of families receiving TANF benefits increased in some states but stayed the same or decreased in other states. In general, caseloads rose in the beginning of 2020 but had declined by the end of the year. This decline may have been because other types of assistance were made available during the pandemic.
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