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1 1 (March 24, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govehaq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing the legislative debate since 1914 Updated March 24, 2022 The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant Introduction The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant was created in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA, 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. Brief H istory Public cash assistance to needy families with children has its origin in the early 1900s state and locally financed mother's pension programs that aided single mothers (often widows) so that children could be raised in their own homes rather than institutionalized. The Social Security Act of 1935 provided federal funding for these programs with the explicit goal to aid mothers so they would not have to work and could stay home to raise their children. Post-1935 changes altered the context in which programs for needy families with children operated. In 1939, survivors' benefits were added to Social Security, providing social insurance benefits to widows and their children. The increase in labor force participation among married mothers altered views about whether government should aid single mothers to stay at home. Families with children whose fathers were alive but absent comprised more of the public cash assistance caseload. The caseload also became more nonwhite. Cash assistance to needy families with children became among the most controversial of social programs, particularly beginning in the late 1960s as the cash assistance caseload had its first large increase. Proposals to replace or reform cash assistance for needy families were debated across four decades, ultimately leading to the enactment of PRWORA. The TANF Bbck Grant PRWORA and the creation of TANF altered the federal rules that applied to states for their cash assistance programs. It also consolidated federal funds for public assistance to needy families into a broad-purpose block grant. The TANF block grant's overall purpose is to increase the flexibility of states to meet four statutory goals: (1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may remain in their homes; (2) end the 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. Federal Grants and State Funds TANF provides grants to the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. American Indian tribes may also operate their own TANF programs with federal dollars. The bulk of TANF funding is in a basic block grant of $16.5 billion per year. Every year, each state receives a fixed grant based on how much it received in federal funding in the pre-1996 cash assistance and related programs during the early- and mid-1990s. Tribes also may receive grants based on mid-1990s expenditures. The TANF block grant has not been increased since the enactment of the 1996 welfare law. There has been no adjustment for inflation or population change. From 1997 to 2021, the basic TANF block grant has lost 40% of its value to inflation. During TANF's history, states have at times received TANF funds in addition to the basic block grant. Since 2011, some states have routinely tapped a contingency fund, that was originally intended to provide extra funding during economic recessions. In addition to federal funding, states are required to contribute a minimum amount of nonfederal funds on the TANF-related population and TANF-related programs (a total minimum of $10.3 billion per year). This amount is also based on historical expenditures in pre-TANF programs and is known as the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement. Some states spend more than the minimum. Use of TANF Funds States may use federal block grant and MOE funds in any manner that is reasonably calculated to achieve TANF's statutory purpose and goals. In FY2020, a total of $31.6 billion was spent by states from federal TANF and state MOE funds. TANF basic assistance, including monthly cash benefits to families with children, totaled $7.1 billion. In addition to assistance, TANF contributes to state funds used for work and training programs, child care, pre- kindergarten programs, programs to provide services to children who have been abused and neglected or are at risk of it, and other services (e.g., youth activities, responsible fatherhood, healthy marriage promotion). Figure I. Uses of Federal TANF and State MOE Funds, by Category, FY2020 Total=$31.6 Billion BasieAssistance sz$1 Child Care r52B Work, Education and Training $ Refhndable Tax (red, $2t 8B Pr <IhseadstarT N 2/ Child Welfare ;2.63 Adninistration .2B Emergency and Short Term Benefits Other Services $4.7B Source: CRS, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Detail does not add to total because of rounding. 0

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