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1 1 (May 17, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govzeg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Conresinl eerh evc S May 17, 2018 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The Decline in the Cash Assistance Caseload Introduction The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant helps fund public assistance programs for needy families with children, families often headed by a single mother. It was created in the 1996 welfare reform law, P.L. 104-193, which ended the prior federal grant to states for public assistance, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). TANF has an explicit statutory goal to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits and the decline in the cash assistance caseload is the most visible indicator of progress toward meeting that goal. In 1995 an estimated 17.6 million people (adults and children) received assistance during the year compared to 4.9 million in 2015. However, most of the TANF cash assistance caseload decline comes from fewer eligible people receiving assistance, rather than from there being fewer eligible people. This In Focus examines the TANF caseload decline in the context of those eligible for its assistance as well as child poverty. It summarizes and updates information in CRS Report R44724, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Size of the Population Eligible for and Receiving Cash Assistance. Number of People Eligible for and Receiv ng TAN FC ash Assistance Figure 1 shows the number of people eligible for and receiving AFDC in 1995, and the proportion of eligible individuals who received benefits in that year. In 1995, 21.6 million persons were eligible for AFDC cash assistance, with 82% of those eligible (17.6 million) receiving benefits during that year. The figure compares these numbers and the rate of eligible people receiving TANF cash assistance for selected years. The number of people receiving cash assistance declined most rapidly in the late 1990s. By 2000, the caseload had declined from an estimated 17.6 million persons to 7.9 million. This decline stemmed from both fewer people being eligible for benefits and a decline in the share of eligible people receiving benefits. The rate at which eligible people received benefits in 2000 had fallen to a little less than half (47%). The figure also shows the fluctuations in the caseload during the 2000s. In the period from 2000 to 2007, the caseload continued to fall, but this was almost wholly attributable to a decline in the share of eligible people who actually received benefits, which declined to 34% by 2007. The period from 2007 to 2010 shows caseload trends during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. During this period, the estimated share of eligible people receiving benefits held fairly steady (33% in 2010). However, at the same time, the caseload increased by 1.4 million because the number of people eligible for benefits rose from 16.8 million to 21.6 million. Following the recession, the number of people eligible for assistance again declined along with an even faster decline in the caseload. By 2015, 27% of the 18.0 million eligible for cash assistance received it. Over the entire 1995 to 2015 period, most of the caseload decline resulted not from fewer people being eligible for aid, but from fewer of the eligible people actually receiving benefits. Figure I. Number of People Eligible for and Receiving Cash Assistance, Selected Years 81.6% Portion of eligible people receiving benefits 46.7% 34.2% 32. 9% * 27.3% Total numberof eligible people -21.6 (in millions) 2. Notreceiving - L* , benefits Receiving 17.6 benefits 1995 16.9 16.8 2000 2007 2010 2015 Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis based on estimates from the TRIM3 micro-simulation model. Notes: Includes people in state-funded public assistance programs who are eligible for TANF, but excludes families receiving relatively small TANF-funded earnings supplements outside of regular TANF programs. The Decline in the Cash Assistance Caseload and Child Poverty The majority of cash assistance recipients are children. Of the 17.6 million persons receiving AFDC in 1995, 11.5 million were children. Of the 4.9 million people receiving assistance in 2015, 3.5 million (more than 70% of recipients) were children. Cash assistance does not reach all poor children in part because of the way eligibility is determined. Not all poor children were eligible for AFDC; nor are all poor children eligible for TANF. States determine income eligibility for TANF (as they did for AFDC before it). In 1995, most states set their income eligibility threshold below the poverty level; this has also been true under TANF. 21.6 18.0 https:/crsreports.congress.go)

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